Draining the Beverage From a Single-Serve Beverage Pod With or Without an Outlet Piercing Element

ABSTRACT

A single-serve beverage pod has a filter that is sealed to the rim of container where upon a predetermined force applied to the filter, the filter can separate from the rim to form a gap therebetween to drain the beverage. The rim also has a line of weakness which can also separate upon the application of the predetermined force to form the gap between the filer and the rim to drain the beverage. As such, the pod has two independent means of separating the filter from the rim to form the gap.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to a U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/968117, filed Jan. 30, 2020, entitled SINGLE-SERVE BEVERAGE PODDRAINING THE BEVERAGE WITH OR WITHOUT AN OUTLET PIERCING ELEMENT, whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

A single-serve beverage pod is configured to brew a beverage and drainthe beverage therein via multiple outlets. In particular, the pod may beorientated to drain the beverage about the bottom side, sidewall, and/orthe top side of the pod with or without an outlet piercing elementpiercing through the pod.

2. Background of the Invention

The following background discussion is not an admission that the mattersdiscussed below are citable as prior art or common general knowledge.Brewing a hot beverage through single-serve pods are popular for theirconvenience and a variety of flavors of beverage which are offered. Forinstance, single-serve pods may be packed with premeasured coffee groundwhich can be inserted into a brewing mechanism to inject hot water intothe pod to brew a cup of beverage. As of 2018, the market leader ofsingle-serve pods in North America is Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.® thatsells its single-serve platform under the Keurig® brand name,collectively referred to as Keurig®. Keurig® offers over 400 differentvariety of single-serve pods, also known as K-Cup® pods (hereinafterreferred to as “K-Cup(s)” or “K-Cup pod(s)”). For instance, US. PatentApplication Publication No. 2005/0051478 entitled BEVERAGE FILTER POD byKaranikos et al. (the “'51478 application”), which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety, generally describes the K-Cuppods offered in the market today. The '514778 application discloses abeverage filter cartridge having a cup like container where the interioris divided into two chambers by a cup-shaped filter element: a firstchamber is located inside the filter and a second chamber is a spacebetween the bottom of filter and the base of the container. The upperrim of the filter is joined at the upper opening of the containersidewall. The rim of the container is bonded with a lid to contain thecoffee ground packed within the filter. The bottom of the filter isposition above the bottom of the container such that the second chamberhas enough space so that the tip of the bottom outlet needle does notpierce the bottom of the paper filter in order to prevent the paperfilter from tearing open so that coffee ground do not escape from thefilter during the brewing process.

In order to brew a beverage, a K-Cup pod is placed inside a brewerdesigned to work with the K-Cup pod. U.S. Pat. No. 7,347,138 (the '138Patent”), which is hereby incorporated in its entirety, generallydescribes a brewer, offered by Keurig®, designed to work with K-Cuppods. The brewer includes a holder configured and dimensioned to receivea K-Cup pod generally in an upright position. The brewer has a coverthat opens and closes, and underneath the cover is an inlet needledesigned to pierce the lid of the K-Cup pod as the cover closes; andduring the brewing process, heated water is injected into the firstchamber via the inlet needle in order to brew a beverage as the waterinteract with the coffee ground packed within the filter. The beveragethen flow pass the filter and into the second chamber but the coffeeground remain within the filter, The holder also has an outlet needle atthe bottom to pierce the bottom of the container when the pod is presseddown into the holder. This allows the beverage within the second chamberto drain via the outlet needle.

Despite the popularity of the K-Cup pods, there are a number ofdisadvantages to brewing a cup of coffee with the K-Cup pod. First,while some K-Cup pods are recyclable, it is not easy to do so. Forinstance, after the K-Cup pod has been used to brew a beverage, thecoffee ground within the spent pod hinders the container from beingrecycled. In this disclosure, a single-serve beverage pod that has beenused to brew a beverage may be generally referred to as a “spent pod”.With the spent pod, a user may need to first remove the lid and discardthe coffee ground within the filter in order to recycle the outercontainer with the filter still bonded to the container. In practice,many users may find that following these steps, in other words, removingthe lid and then discarding the coffee ground to be cumbersome andmessy. Accordingly, many users may not actually follow these steps torecycle the pods. Second, the K-Cup pods need to be pierced at thebottom of the container by an outlet needle in order to drain thebeverage via the outlet needle. In some instances, the outlet needlescan get clogged such that the beverage cannot be drained, which cancause the brewing mechanism to malfunction. Third, the same outletneedle is used to brew a variety of different flavor beverages, such ascoffee, tea, and hot cocoa, but using the same outlet needle cancontaminate the flavors among different flavored beverages. This canlead to unsatisfactory taste of the beverages. Accordingly, there stillis a need for a K-Cup pod that can be recycled more conveniently, reducethe chances of the outlet needle getting clogged, and/or minimize thecontamination of flavors due to using the same outlet needle for brewingdifferent flavored pods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One of the aspects of the invention is to provide a single-serve podwith a container having a base that extends upwardly to form a sidewalland extends outwardly to form a rim to define an opening, the rim havinga line of weakness defining an outer section and an inner section of therim where the inner section is juxtaposed to the sidewall; a filterhaving a filter base that extends upwardly to form a filter sidewall andextends outwardly to form an extension to define an opening adapted toreceive beverage ingredient, where the opening of the container isadapted to receive the filter such that the extension is juxtaposed tothe rim of the container; and an energy director between the rim of thecontainer and the extension of the filter.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a single-serve beveragepod that can be brewed in different orientations such as in asubstantially upright position and a substantially horizontal position.When the pod is brewed in the substantially upright position, theformation of the beverage may be drained through a pierced hole formedwithin the base of the container but when the pod is brewed in thesubstantially horizontal position, the beverage can be drained through agap formed between the rim and sidewall of the container and may pourdirectly into a mug to avoid contaminating the beverage. The containermay be formed from a unitary part having a rim extending outwardly froma sidewall, and the rim may be separated from the sidewall via a line ofweakness. The container may be also formed from separate parts peelablybonded together such that the rim part can be peeled away from thesidewall part to form a gap between the two parts to allow the beverageto drain via the gap.

In this regard, one of the aspects of the invention is directed to abeverage pod, comprising: a container having a first part peelablybonded to a second part along a bond area, the first part having a firstsidewall that bends at a corner to form a first section and defining anopening around the first section, the second part having a base and asecond sidewall that is outside and juxtaposed to the first sidewall toform a pathway between the first and second sidewalls and to have thefirst section extends outwardly from the second sidewall where theopening defines a top side of the container and the base defines abottom side of the container, and the bond area is located near the topside of the container; a filter coupled to the first part such that thefilter forms a pocket within the opening to receive a beverage substancewithin the pocket; and a lid coupled to the first section of the firstpart to enclose the opening and to hermetically seal the beveragesubstance within the container such when the beverage pod is brewed in afirst orientation the base is pierced by an outlet piercing element todrain the beverage via the outlet piercing element, and when thebeverage pod is brewed in a second orientation at least a portion of thebond area is separated to form a gap between the first and second partsby a separating element to allow beverage to flow along the pathway anddrain via the gap.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a beverage podcomprising: a container having: a first part having a first sidewallthat bends at a corner to form a first section defining a first opening;a second part having a base that bends at a corner to form a secondsidewall defining a second opening adapted to receive the first sidewallof the first part, the first part peelably bonded to the second part,and when the beverage pod is brewed in a first orientation the base ispierced by an outlet piercing element to form a pierced hole and whenthe beverage pod is brewed in a second orientation a portion of thefirst part is peeled away from the second part to form a gap; a filterbonded to the first part defining a first chamber and a second camberwithin the container, the first chamber defining a pocket adapted topack a beverage substance such that formation of beverage within thefirst chamber passes through the filter and into the second chamber; anda lid enclosing the first chamber such that the lid and the containerhermitically seal the beverage substance within the container, andduring a brewing process, the beverage within the second chamber drainseither through the pierced hole in the base or the gap formed betweenthe first and second parts.

Yet another aspect of the invention is directed to a beverage podbeverage pod comprising: a container having: a first part having a firstsidewall that bends at a corner to form a first section surrounding afirst opening; a second part having a base and a second sidewalldefining a second opening adapted to receive the first sidewalljuxtaposed to the second sidewall, the first part peelably bonded to thesecond part, the second part formed from a pierceable material so thatthe base is pierceable when the beverage pod is brewed in a firstorientation to form a pierced hole through the base, and a portion ofthe first part peeled away from the second part when the beverage pod isbrewed in a second orientation to form a gap between the first andsecond parts; a filter bonded to the first part adjacent to the firstopening defining a first chamber and a second camber within thecontainer, the first chamber defining a pocket adapted to pack abeverage substance such that formation of beverage within the firstchamber passes through the filter and into the second chamber; and a lidenclosing the first chamber such that the lid and the containerhermitically seal the beverage substance within the container, whereinwhen the beverage pod is brewed in the first orientation, the piercedhole is first formed through the base during the brewing process and agravitational force draws the beverage toward the base to drain thebeverage through the pierced hole; and wherein when the beverage pod isbrewed in the second orientation, the gap is first formed between thefirst and second part and the gravitational force draws the beveragetoward the lid to drain the beverage through the gap.

Still another aspect of the invention is directed to a beverage pod amethod of brewing a beverage with a pod including a filter within acontainer with a sidewall extending upwardly from a base and extendingoutwardly forming a rim, the filter having a pocket to receive beveragesubstance and bonding the filter between the rim and a lid to enclosethe beverage substance within the pocket, the method comprising:injecting heated liquid through the lid of the pod to mix with beveragesubstance within the pocket to brew a beverage; draining the beverageformed within the pod through the base of the pod when the pod is in afirst orientation such that the gravitational force directs the beverageto exit through the base; and draining the beverage formed within thepod through a gap formed between the rim and the sidewall when the podis in a second orientation such that the gravitational force directs thebeverage to exit via the gap.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a beverage pod a beveragepod, comprising: a container having a sidewall extending upwardly from abase and extending outwardly from a bend location forming a rim having afirst extension and a second extension that is slanted downward relativeto the first extension, and the rim having a line of weakness around therim and away from the bend location defining a proximal extension of therim and a distal extension of the rim; a filter having a pocket with aledge defining an opening to receive a beverage substance, and the ledgeof the filter coupled to the first and second extensions of the rim; anda lid coupled to the ledge of the filter to enclose the opening and toseal the beverage substance within the container, wherein when asufficient force is applied to a portion of the distal extension of therim, the portion of the distal extension of the rim and the ledge of thefilter separate from the proximal portion of the rim along a portion ofthe line of weakness to form a gap between the distal and proximalextensions.

Yet another aspect of the invention is directed to a beverage pod,comprising: a container having a first part peelabley coupled to asecond part along a bond area, the first part having a first sidewallextending upwardly from a base, the second part having a second sidewallthat bends at a corner to form a first section and defining an openingaround the first section, the second sidewall juxtaposed to the firstsidewall to form a pathway between the first and second sidewalls and tohave the first section extend outwardly from the first sidewall suchthat an application of sufficient force upon the first section causes atleast a portion of the second part to separate from the first part alonga portion of the bond area to form a gap to allow formation of beverageto flow along the pathway and drain via the gap; a filter coupled to thesecond part such that the filter forms a pocket within the opening toreceive a beverage substance within the pocket; and a lid coupled to thefirst section of the first part to enclose the opening and tohermetically seal the beverage substance within the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings and description. The components in the figures are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, likereferenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout thedifferent views.

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of a single-serve beverage pod.

FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the pod of FIG. 1A along theline 1B-1B.

FIG. 1C shows an enlarged view of the rim area of the pod as indicatedby the encircled area marked 1C.

FIGS. 2A through 2L show enlarged cross-sectional views of variousalternative embodiments of the rim.

FIG. 3A show a cross-sectional view of the pod in a first orientation inreference to the gravitational force as indicated by a direction arrowg.

FIG. 3B show a cross-sectional view of the pod brewing a beverage in thefirst orientation and draining the beverage via an outlet needle.

FIG. 4 show a flow chart illustrating the steps that may be utilized topre-weaken a line of weakness of the pod.

FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of a pod in a second orientation inreference to the gravitational force as indicated by a direction arrowg.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the pod of FIG. 5A along the line5B-5B illustrating flow of brewed beverage in the second orientation anddraining the beverage without an outlet needle.

FIG. 6A shows a cross-sectional view of a pod placed within a brewingchamber orientated to brew and drain the beverage in a secondorientation.

FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of the pod of FIG. 6A in anintermediate stage prior to piercing the lid with an inlet needle.

FIG. 6C shows a cross-sectional view of the pod in a second orientationfor brewing and draining the beverage within the pod without an outletneedle.

FIG. 6D shows a cross-sectional view of the spent pod after the brewingprocess.

FIG. 7A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a pod in a secondorientation ready to form a gap to drain the beverage.

FIG. 7B illustrates the pod in a second orientation having a gap todrain the beverage with minimal spattering of the beverage.

FIG. 8A illustrates a pod that supports the filter to enlarge a gap fordraining the beverage.

FIG. 8B shows the pod of FIG. 8A where a gap is formed to drain thebeverage.

FIG. 9A illustrates another embodiment of a pod in a second orientationwith a liner to isolate the inlet needle.

FIG. 9B shows the pod of FIG. 9A with the liner isolating the inletneedle and a gap to drain the beverage.

FIG. 9C shows an expanded view of the pod of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 9D shows another embodiment of a liner for the pod of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10A illustrates a pod having a liner incorporating a one-way valve.

FIG. 10B illustrates a pod without a filter.

FIG. 10C illustrate a pod having solid substances for brewing soup.

FIG. 11A shows a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of apod having an irregular shape sidewall.

FIG. 11B shows the pod of FIG. 11A within a brewing chamber.

FIG. 11C shows the pod of FIG. 11A with the sidewall that has beenreshaped during the brewing process.

FIG. 12A shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a podhaving a shield to protect the filter.

FIG. 12B shows a perspective view of the shield.

FIG. 12C shows a pod having a shield with the filter attached to theshield.

FIG. 12D shows an alternative detail view of the shield attached to thecontainer.

FIG. 12E shows another alternative view of the shield attached to thecontainer.

FIG. 13A shows an alternative low-pressure pod in an upright expandedperspective view.

FIG. 13B shows an inverted perspective view of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13C shows an enlarge view of the holes in the base of the filter.

FIG. 14A shows an alternative high-pressure pod in an upright expandedperspective view.

FIG. 14B shows an inverted perspective view of FIG. 14A.

FIG. 14C shows an enlarge view of the holes in the base of thehigh-pressure filter.

FIG. 15A shows enlarge view of extension of the filter and rim of thecontainer.

FIG. 15B shows enlarge view of an energy director.

FIG. 15C shows enlarge view of an energy director in a differentlocation.

FIG. 15D shows enlarge view of an energy director underneath theextension.

FIG. 16A shows an assembled pod of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 16B shows an alternative pod from the pod illustrated in FIG. 13A.

FIGS. 17A through FIG. 17D illustrate various stages of separating theextension from the rim to drain a beverage.

FIGS. 18A through FIG. 18B illustrate alternative means of separatingthe extension from the rim to drain a beverage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The various aspects of the invention can be better understood withreference to the drawings and descriptions described below. Thecomponents in the figures, however, are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of thevarious aspects of the invention. The claimed invention is not limitedto apparatuses or methods having all of the features of any oneapparatus or method described below or to features common to multiple orall of the apparatuses described below. The claimed invention may residein a combination or sub-combination of the apparatus elements or methodsteps described below. It is possible that an apparatus or methoddescribed below is not an example of the claimed invention. In general,when the terms “may”, “is”, and “are” are used as a verb in thedescription corresponding to a particular subject matter, these termsare generally used in this disclosure as an expression of a possibilityof such subject matter rather than as a limiting sense such as when theterms “shall” and “must” are used. For example, when the descriptionstates that the subject matter “may be” or “is” circular, this is one ofmany possibilities, such that the subject matter can also include anoval, square, regular, irregular, and any other shapes known to a personof ordinarily skilled in the art rather than being limited to the“circular” shape as described and/or illustrated in the correspondingreferenced figure. In addition, when the term “may”, “is”, and “are” areused describe a relationship and/or an action, these terms are generallyused in this disclosure as an expression of a possibility. For example,when the description states that a subject matter A “may be” or “is”adjacent to a subject matter B, this can be one of many possibilitiesincluding the possibility that the subject matter A is not adjacent tothe subject matter B as it would be understood by a person of ordinarilyskilled in the art.

Moreover, it is within the scope of the invention to combine the variousembodiments disclosed relating to one or more particular drawing andtheir corresponding descriptions with one or more of other drawings andtheir corresponding descriptions disclosed herein and/or otherreferences incorporated herein by reference where such a combination maybe combined and practiced by one of ordinary skilled in the art. Thephrase “single-serve beverage pod” in this disclosure generally refersto a single brewing process where a desired volume of beverage is brewedto serve one cup of beverage, however, it is within the scope of theinvention to have a pod that packs sufficient beverage substance to brewmultiple cups of beverage from a single brewing process or from multiplebrewing processes. Also, the term “beverage substance” generally refersto the underline article when mixed with liquid such as water formulatesa beverage such as coffee, tea, fruit drink, surgery drink such aspunch, soda, cocoa, milk, soup, energy drink, liquid medicine, and thelike. For instance, for coffee, the beverage substance may be coffeeground, instant powder coffee, and/or concentrated coffee in liquid formthat can be diluted with water for consumption. For tea, the beveragesubstance may be tea ground, instant powder tea, and/or concentrated teain liquid form that can be diluted with water for consumption. For babymilk, the beverage substance may be milk powder or concentrated milkliquid. For medicine such as for flu or cold, the beverage substance maybe in the powder or liquid form which can be dissolved withpredetermined portion of the heated water to brew a proper portion ofthe liquid medicine. In addition, the beverage substance may be providedin the form of pellets that are infused with desired flavors; and oncethe pellets are exposed to liquid such as water, the trapped flavors maybe released by the pellets, which is then absorbed by the mixing liquidto formulate a beverage with the desired flavor. As such, the beveragesubstance may be in the form of ground, powder, liquid, pellets, and thelike; and the beverage substance may be formulated from single ormultiple ingredients. The same referenced numerals referred to in thedrawings and descriptions generally correspond to same or similar partsthroughout the disclosure.

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of a single-serve beverage pod 10including a container 12 and a lid 14 sized to enclose the container 12.In reference to the gravitational force as indicated by the directionarrow g, the container 12 may have a base 16 and extending upwardlytherefrom may be a sidewall 18, which may then extend laterally at abend location 20 to form a rim 22. The base 16 and the sidewall 18 maybe circular such that the bend location 20 and the rim 22 may becorrespondingly circular as well. The outer dimensions and configurationof the pod 10 may vary depending on the application. The outerdimensions and configuration of the pod 10, however, may includedimensions and configuration same or similar to that of K-Cup® pod foundin the market today. Moreover, as discussed in more details below, adifferent pod having different size and configuration may be used alongwith the pod 10, such as a second pod having a different height that isgreater or smaller than the height of the pod 10.

FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the pod 10 along the line 1B-1Bshown in FIG. 1A; and FIG. 1C shows an enlarged portion of the pod 10 asindicated by the encircled area marked 1C where the rim 22 may have aslanted configuration that faces downwards toward the base 16. The pod10 may include a filter 24 forming a pocket generally defining a firstchamber 28 within the container 12 configured to receive and hold thebeverage substance 26. The filter 24 may have a bottom 30 with asidewall 32 extending upwardly therefrom and extending outwardly from acorner 34 to form a ledge 36 configured to nest over the rim 22 and sealto at least a portion of the rim 22. The ledge 36 of the filter may besealed to the rim 22 through a variety of methods known to one skilledin the art, such as being permanently or peelably bonded such that theledge 36 of the filter 24 can be peeled away from the rim 22, ifdesired. Depending on the application, the ledge 36 may be bonded to therim 22 through a variety of peelable bond known to one skilled in theart. The peelable bond may have sufficient strength to allow both bondedmaterials to remain bonded together during normal conditions ofmanufacturing, shipping, use, and brewing process while beingsufficiently weak enough to allow one material to be peeled away fromthe opposite material by the application of sufficient force to separatethe two materials. The sufficient force may be applied through the useof hand and/or via mechanical means within the brewing mechanism.

The filter 24 may also define a second chamber 38 between the filter 24and the sidewall 18 and the base 16 of the container 12. Note that it iswithin the scope of the invention to have the second chamber 38 beminimized such that the bottom 30 of the filter 24 may contact the base16 of the container 12. The filter may be formed within the container 12such that a pathway 40 may be formed between the sidewall 18 of thecontainer 12 and the sidewall 32 of the filer 24. Note that it is withinthe scope of the invention to have a portion of the filter 24 be incontact with the sidewall 18 and/or the base 16. The filter 24 may beformed from a variety of materials known to one skilled in the art suchas paper filter, synthetic filtration material, moldable non-wovenfiltration material, biodegradable, compostable, and recyclablematerial. As an example, the non-woven filtration material may include aplurality of multi-component filaments that are bound or interlocked bynon-woven manufacturing techniques (such as spunbond techniques) to formthe ledge 36 extending outwardly around the circumference of the corner34 of the filter 24. The basis weight for filter 24 adapted forfiltering ingredients for preparing a single-serve beverage may be inthe range from about 8 to about 400 grams per square meter (gsm), alsofrom about 40 to about 150 gsm, and from about 60 to about 120 gsm.Depending on the brewing application, the filter 24 may be incorporatedinto the pod 10 such as for brewing ground coffee and tea, however,there may be other brewing applications where the filter may not beneeded such as when brewing instant coffee, power drinks like chocolatepowder, milk powder, or any other soluble or insoluble ingredients, andetc.

The pod 10 may be enclosed by the lid 14 to seal the first chamber 28 ofthe filter 24 and/or the rim 22 of the container 12. In general, inreference to the orientation of the pod 10 illustrated in FIG. 1A, thelid 14 may represent the top side of the pod 10, and the base 16 mayrepresent the bottom side of the pod 10. The outer extension portionand/or intermediate portion of the lid 14 may be coupled to the ledge 36of the filter and/or extend over the ledge 36 and bond directly to therim 22 as discussed in more detail below. Accordingly, depending theapplication, the diameter of the lid 14 may be less, equal, or greaterthan the outer diameter of the rim 22 such that the lid 14 may or maynot overlap the entire outer circumference of the rim 22. The lid 14 maybe formed from a variety of materials known to one skilled in the artsuch as aluminum, plastic liner, biodegradable, compostable, andrecyclable material. In particular, the lid 14 may be formed of amaterial that is resistant to tearing upon the application of a peelforce. For instance, the lid may be formed from a multi-layered materialthat includes at least one layer that is resistant to tearing upon theapplication of a peel force. For example, the lid 14 may have a minimumtensile strength of 3000 psi and a minimum elongation of 50%. Examplesof materials that may be used to resistant tearing include polyethylene(PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyamide PA6. A lid made ofmulti-la.yered material may include at least one layer formed of acontinuous film of tear resistant material (laminated or extrusioncoated) or a non-continuous film such as a non-woven polymer, mesh orperforated film. Examples of a multi-layered material for lid 14 include(from outside layer to inside layer): PET/aluminum foil/PE, PET/EVOH/PE,PET/metalized PET/PE or PET/PE. The lid 14 may be formed from a flexiblematerial such that if the lid 14 is sized to overlap the rim 22, the lidmay return to its original shape once the lid is free from the exteriorrestraints such as when a plurality of pods are packed within a boxclose to each other to minimize the size of the box. Alternatively, thepods may be made from biodegradable materials. For example, the pods maybe made from biodegradable and/or compostable materials as disclosed inUS Published Application No. 2014/0335236, entitled BIODEGRADABLE ANDCOMPOSTABLE SINGLE-SERVE BEVERAGE INGREDIENT PACKAGE, published Nov. 13,2014; and also US Published Application No. 2013/0045308, entitledDISPOSABLE BIODEGRADABLE BEVERAGE PACKAGE, published Feb. 21, 2013,which are both hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, andreferred hereto as “biodegradable disclosures” below.

As illustrated in FIG. 1C, the rim 22 may have a line of weakness 42around the circumference of the rim 22 such that the rim 22 may beseparated from the sidewall 18 when a sufficient force is applied to therim 22 in a manner described below. The ledge 36 of filter 24 and thelid 14 may be coupled to the rim 22 such that when a sufficient force isapplied over and/or underneath the rim 22, the rim 22, the ledge 36, andthe lid 14 may separate from the sidewall 18 along the line of weakness42 in a manner described below. The rim 22 may be slanted downward by anangle yr relative to a horizontal plane HP and the extension of the rim22 from the line of weakness 42 may be ER. The angle ψ may vary fromabout 0° to about 90°, and from about 15° to about 60°, and inparticular from about 30° to about 45°. The angle ψ may also be adjustedto allow the pod 10 to work with cup holders in traditional brewingmechanisms that brews K-Cup pods where the bottom 16 of the pod ispierced by an outlet needle or the like to drain the beverage via theoutlet needle when the pod is generally brewed in an uprightorientation. The length of the ER may vary from about 2.0 mm to about10.0 mm, and from about 3.0 mm to about 8.0 mm, and in particular fromabout 4.0 mm to about 6.0 mm. The ledge 36 of the filter 24 may bebonded to a portion of the rim 22 via a first bond 50, and the ledge 36may be bonded to the lid 14 via a second bond 52 such that the ledge 36may be between the first and second bonds 50 and 52 in this embodiment,as discussed in more detail below.

The first and second bonds 50 and 52 may be bonded through a variety ofmethods known to one skilled in the art depending on the application.For instance, the first and second bonds 50 and 52 may have similarbonding strength or the first bond 50 may be stronger than the secondbond 52, and vice versa. That is, the first and second bonds 50 and 52may be individually and/or in combination permanent or peelable bonddepending on the application. In reference to the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 1C, the first and second bonds may be permanent bonds such thatthey are not intended to be peeled off from their respective adheredmembers. The term “permanent” bond in this disclosure generally refersto relative strength of the bonds such that the permanent bond hasstronger adherence characteristics than the peelable bond. The areas ofthe first and second bonds 50 and 52 may vary depending on theapplication and the desired strength of the bond. Also, the permanentand peelable bonding material may be a separate material from the filter24 and the container 12 or it may be an integral part of the material(either a monolayer material or a layer of a multi-layered material) forone or both of the filter 24 and container 12. One example of a firstbond 50 may be a heat sealable polymer such as polyethylene (PE)including low density PE, linear low density PE and high density PE. Thefirst bond 50 may be provided as an inner sealing layer for thecontainer 12 formed from a multi-layered material as discussed above orit may be provided as a separate first bond 50. Other suitable firstbond 50 may include heat sealable materials such as polypropylene,lacquer, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene acrylates, polystyreneor combinations of the above. Adhesive materials (having comparableadhesion properties as described above to form a peelable bond) may beutilized for applications where a heat sealer is not desired orfeasible. Suitable first bond 50 materials that may be integral with thefilter 24 include homocomponent materials (such as polyolefin,polyester, and polyamide) and multicomponent materials (such aspolyester-polyolefin, polyamide-polyolefin and polyester-polyamide).Moreover, other bonding methods such as ultrasonic bonding method may beused.

FIGS. 2A through 2L show enlarged cross-sectional views of variousalternative embodiments of the rim 22 of the pod 10 and the manner inwhich the ledge 36 of the filter 24 and the lid 14 may be bondedtogether to their respective adjacent layers and the locations of theline of weakness 42. FIG. 2A illustrates that the container 12 may havea first line of weakness 42 at the bend location 20 on the exterior sideof the container 12, and a second line of weakness 44 near the bendlocation 20 on the corner where the sidewall 18 bends to form the rim22. In this embodiment, the first and second bonds 50 and 52 may bepermanent bonds. That is, the bonding strengths between the two bonds 50and 52 may be similar and resistant to separation from their respectivebonding area under normal intended us. Moreover, the pathway 40 may beformed between the two sidewalls 18 and 32.

FIG. 2B illustrates that the container 12 may have a first line ofweakness 42 at the bend location 20 on the exterior side of thecontainer 12, and a second line of weakness 44 near the bend location 20but on the inner side 12B of the container 12. FIG. 2C illustrates thatthe rim 22 may include a first extension 22B and a second extension 22Cwith a line of weakness 42 at the bend location 20 on the exterior sideof the container 12. The first extension 22B may extend outwardly in alateral or horizontal manner; and this may provide more surface area 46on the rim 22, which in turn provides greater bonding area for a moresecure bonding between ledge 36 and the rim 22. The second extension 22Cmay extend in an oblique or slanted manner relative from the firstextension 22B such that the second extension 22C face towards the base16 of the container 12. Alternately, the first and second extensions 22Band 22C may extend in a curve like manner where the edge 48 of the rim22 face downwards toward the base 16 of the container 12. Moreover, aportion of the sidewall 32 of the filter 24 may contact the sidewall 18of the container thereby minimizing the pathway 40 relative to thepathway 40 shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2D illustrate that the line of weakness 42 may be on the inner side12C of the container 12 adjacent to the bend location 20. FIG. 2Eillustrates that the rim 22 may have an extension 54 adapted to moresecurely engage with a separating element 216, as discussed in moredetail below, to allow the rim 22 to separate from the sidewall 18 ofthe container 12 along the line of weakness 42. In addition, the ledge36 of the filter 24 and the lid 14 may adhere to the taper portion ofthe rim 22 to increase the bonding surface area between the ledge 36 andthe rim 22. FIG. 2F illustrates that the line of weakness 42 may belocated at the inner side 12C of the container 12 adjacent to the bendlocation 20 with the extension 54. Note that it is within the scope ofthe invention where the container 12 may have more than one line ofweaknesses 42. For example, the container 12 have two lines ofweaknesses 42 on its exterior and interior sides as illustrated in FIGS.2E and 2F, respectively.

FIG. 2G illustrates that the ledge 36 of the filter 24 and the lid 14may be extended to encompass the first and second extensions 22B and 22Cof the rim 22. The ledge 36 of the filter 24 may be comprised of a firstextension 36B and a second extension 36C which may be bonded to thefirst and second extensions 22B and 22C, respectively. The line ofweakness 42 may be formed on the outer surface 12B of the rim 22 aboutan extension distance R1 from the bend location 20, which may beadjacent to the oblique location 56 where the second extension 22C bendsfrom the first extension 22B at the angle ψ as discussed above. With theline of weakness 42 located outside of the boding area 46, the bondingarea 46 of the first and second bonds 50 and 52 may be sufficientlylarge to prevent the outside oxygen from entering the first and secondchambers 28 and 32 of the pod. That is, even if the line of weakness 42is unintentionally cut too deeply into the rim 22 such that outsideoxygen may pass through the line of weakness 42, the sufficiently largebonding area 46 prevents oxygen to entering the pod.

FIG. 2H illustrates that the line of weakness 42 may be formed at theextension distance R1 from the bend location as discussed above inreference to FIG. 2G, but on the outer side 12C of the rim 22 adjacentto the oblique location 56 where the second extension 22C bends from thefirst extension 22B. FIG. 2I illustrates that the first and secondextensions 36B and 36C of the ledge 36 may be bonded to the first andsecond extensions 22B and 22C, respectively. However, the lid 14 may bebonded to the first extension 36B of the ledge 36 but not the secondextension 36C of the ledge 36. The line of weakness 42 may be formed onthe outer surface 12B of the rim 22 adjacent to the bend location 20. Inthis example, the first bond 50 between the ledge 36 and the firstextension 22B may be a peelable bond; and the second bond 52 between theledge 36 and the lid 14 may be a permanent bond but a peelable bond maybe suitable as well.

FIG. 2J illustrates that the line of weakness 42 may be formed on theinner side 12C of the rim 22 adjacent to the bend location 20. FIG. 2Killustrates that the ledge 36 of the filter may adhered to the firstextension 22B of the rim 22 while the lid 14 may be extended toencompass the first and second extensions 22B and 22C of the rim 22. Theline of weakness 42 may be formed at an extension distance R1 from thebend location 20. FIG. 2L illustrates that the line of weakness 42 maybe formed at the bend location 20 on the exterior side 12B of the rim22. Note that it is within the scope of the invention to have a pod withthe first extension 22B but not the second extension 22C such that theentire rim 22 may be substantially horizontal. Moreover, as disclosedabove, the line of weakness 42 may be located on the inner and/or outersides of the container 12 and at different locations. In this regard,the die cuts and the bonds discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,293 ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Moreover, a variety ofcombinations of line of weakness formed on the interior and/or exteriorside of the container 12 may be utilized to ensure that the pod 10 isproperly sealed so that the beverage substance with in the pod 10 mayremain fresh as long as possible.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a cross-sectional view of the pod 10 with the rim22 illustrated in FIG. 2G positioned within a brewing chamber 60 in afirst orientation in reference to the gravitational direction arrow g.The brewing chamber 60 includes a cover 62 having an inlet piercingelement 64 such that the cover may close and open relative to a holder66 having an outlet piercing element 68 protruding from a bottom 70 ofthe holder. The holder 66 has a sidewall 72 with a lip 74 defining anopening 76 sized to receive the pod 10 when the cover 62 is fully open.

FIG. 3A shows the cover 62 in a partially closed position relative tothe holder 66 such that the inlet piercing element 64 has partiallypierced through the lid 14 but the tip 68B of the outlet piercingelement 68 abuts against the base 16 of the pod 10 without piercingthrough the base 16 until the cover 62 fully closes. When the cover 62is in the partially closed position, the rim 22 may be between the cover62 and the lip 74 such that the first and second extensions 22B and 22C,respectively, maintain their original shape as illustrated in FIG. 2G.In reference to FIG. 2G, the location of the line of weakness 42 and thesecond extension 22C extending obliquely therefrom may be configuredsuch that once the pod 10 is within the brewing chamber 60, the lip 74may be aligned with at least a portion of the second extension 22C; andthe second extension 22C does not interfere with the operation of thecover 62.

FIG. 3B shows that as the cover 62 fully closes relative to the holder66, the lip 74 of the holder 66 may abut against the second extension22C that causes the second extension 22C to move upwards to be alignedlaterally relative to the first extension 22B. The upward movement ofthe second extension 22C weakens the line of weakness 42 such that theline of weakness 42 may be pre-weakened once the cover 62 fully closesrelative to the holder 66. Thereafter, the beverage may be brewed byinjecting liquid into the pod 10 through the inlet piercing element 64and the beverage may drain via the outlet piercing element 68 asindicted by the direction arrows 78. The first bond 50 between the ledge36 of the filter and the rim 22 may be a peelable bond. Once the spentpod 10 is removed from the holder 66, the line of weakness 42 has beenpre-weakened by the brewing chamber 60 such that the second extension22C may be separated from the first extension 22B along the line ofweakness 42 more readily by the user. That is, the spent pod 10 may beremoved from the brewing mechanism 40 by the user; and if the userdesires to recycle the pod 10, the user may grab and pull away anyportion of the second extension 22C to cause the second extension 22C toseparate from the first extension 22B along the pre-weakened line ofweakness 42, and cause the ledge 36 of the filter to peel away from thefirst extension 22B due to the peelable bond used between the ledge 36and the rim 22. And as the user continues to pull on the secondextension 22C, the rest of the second extension 22C, the filter 24, andthe lid 14 may separate from the rest of the first extension 22B alongthe pre-weakened line of weakness 42. Even with the second extension 22Cseparated from the container 12, the bulk of the container 12, whichincludes the first extension 22B, may be recycled.

Placing the pod 10 in a brewing position may also be referred to as afirst orientation where the pod 10 is positioned relative to thegravitational direction arrow g such that the direction arrow 78 of thebeverage generally flows towards the base 16 of the container 12 toallow the beverage to drain via the outlet piercing element 68. That is,the first orientation of the pod 10 may include positioning the pod 10in a slanted position relative to the gravitational direction arrow g,as long as the beverage is able to flow towards the base 16 to bedrained through a variety of methods known to one skilled in the art.Moreover, while the above description generally relates to theembodiment disclosed in reference to FIG. 2G working with the brewingchamber 60, other embodiments of the pod disclosed in references toFIGS. 2A through 2L may work with the brewing chamber 60 as well.

FIG. 4 show a flow chart 90 illustrating the steps that may be utilizedto pre-weaken the line of weakness 42 of the pod 10. In step 92, a pod10 may be provided for brewing a beverage having a rim 22 that has aline of weakness 42 around the circumference of the rim 22 where atleast a portion of the rim 22 extends obliquely 22C from the line ofweakness 42 and towards the base 16 of the container 12. Note that theline of weakness 42 need not go around the entire circumference of therim 22. In step 94, the holder 66 may receive the pod 10 when the cover62 is in an open position. In step 96, the line of weakness 42 may beweakened as the cover 62 closes relative to the holder 66 as the lip 74of the holder 66 abuts against the second extension 22C portion of therim 22, which causes the second extension 22C to move upwards to bealigned laterally relative to the first extension 22B. The upwardmovement of the second extension 22C weakens the line of weakness 42such that the line of weakness 42 may be pre-weakened once the cover 62fully closes relative to the holder 66. Accordingly, once the line ofweakness 42 has been pre-weakened, it may be easier for a user to peelaway the second extension portion 22C, lid 14, and filter 24 from therest of the container 12 for recycling purpose.

FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of the pod 10 illustrating that the pod10 may brew a beverage in a second orientation that may be in asubstantially horizontal position relative to the gravitationaldirection arrow g. In this example, the rim 22 of the pod 10 may be theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 2C with the second extension 22Cextending out from underneath the lid 14. In the second orientation, aninlet piercing element 100 may pierce the lid 14 at a vertical distancefrom the center 102 of the lid 14 to allow the portion of the beveragesubstance that is above the center of axis of the pod 10 to be wettedfirst. However, it is within the scope of the invention to have theinlet piercing element 100 pierce at or near the center 102 of the lid14. As discussed in more details below, a peelable portion 104 of therim 22 that is below the inlet piercing element 100 or at about sixO'clock position may be separated from the sidewall 18 along the line ofweakness 42. Note that the peelable portion 104 may be anywhere aroundthe rim 22 depending on the orientation of the pod 10 relative to theinlet piercing element 100. As the peelable portion 104 of the rim 22 isseparated, the corresponding portion of the lid 14 and the filter 24 maybe separated from the sidewall 18 as well leaving a gap 106 between thefilter 24 and the sidewall 18 of the container 12. The circumferencearound the sidewall 18 in which the peelable portion 104 is separated orthe arc of the peelable portion may be defined as an arc angle β inreference to the center 102 of the lid 14. The arc angle β may be fromabout 15° to about 180°, and from about 30° to about 120°, and also fromabout 45° to about 90°.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the pod 10 along the line 5B-5B ofFIG. 5A to illustrate the gap 106 formed between the filter 24 and thesidewall 18 as the portion 104 is separated along the line of weakness42. In particular, with reference to FIG. 1B discussed above, the filter24 may be molded such the filter 24 may substantially maintain its shapeduring the brewing process so that the pathway 40 between the sidewall18 of the container and the sidewall 32 of the filter may besubstantially maintained to allow the beverage to flow along the pathway40 and drain from the gap 106. During the brewing process, heated water108 may be provided to the inlet piercing element 100 to inject theheater water 108 into the pod 10, which interact with the beveragesubstance 26 within the filter 24 such that the heated water washes awaythe beverage 112 from the beverage substance 26 as indicated by thedirection arrows 112. The formation of the gap 106 between the peelableportion 104 of the rim 22, which is attached to the ledge 36 of thefilter, and the sidewall 18 in the second orientation of the pod 10allows the beverage 110 within the container 12 to drain via the gap 106as illustrated by the direction arrows 112. The container 12 may beformed from a malleable material when exposed to elevated temperaturesuch that during the brewing process, the separated portion of thesidewall 18 may expand thereby enlarging the gap 106 due to the rise inthe temperature and pressure within the pod 10 from the heated waterinjected into the pod 10 under pressure. In this regard, the pod 10 andin particular the container 12 may be more conducive to being formedfrom biodegradable materials. In general, biodegradable materials aremade from plant-base materials like corn such that biodegradablematerial may be more malleable than the conventional multilayeredmaterial discussed above to form the container 12 due to the elevatedheat and pressure within the container 12 during the brewing process.

The beverage may flow along the path within the pod 10 as generallyindicated by the direction arrows 112. In general, the inlet piercingelement 100 may pierce the lid 14 at a vertical distance from the center102 of the lid 14 to allow the portion of the beverage substance that isabove the center of axis of the pod 10 to be wetted first. That is, theinlet piercing element 100 may be position to inject heated water intothe pod 10 to take account of the capillary action of the beveragesubstance and gravitational force when the pod 10 is used in the secondorientation so that the heated water may be distributed within thefilter 24 to washes away the flavor from the beverage substance evenly.Such even distribution of heated water 108 within the filter 24 mayallow the beverage substance to be washed more evenly which may resultin a smoother tasting beverage. As the beverage exit the filter 24, thegravitational force directs the beverage downwards toward the separatedportion of the sidewall 18 to allow the beverage to flow along thepathway 40 and exit along the gap 106.

As the beverage drains through the gap 106, the second extension 22C ofthe rim 22 may extend in a downwardly direction to act, in part, as afunnel to direct the beverage into a mug (not shown) as indicated by thedirection arrows 112. The second extension 22C may minimize the beveragefrom spattering to drain the beverage in a clean manner. In addition,the pod 10 may drain the beverage without the need for an outletpiercing member thereby eliminating the possibility of contamination dueto using the same outlet piercing member for subsequent pods withdifferent flavored beverages, such as coffee and tea. Moreover, in someinstances, some particles of the beverage substance 26 may escape fromthe filter and clog the outlet piercing element, which can cause thebrewing mechanism to malfunction. And once the pod 10 has been brewed,the portion 104 of the rim 22 is pre-peeled from the sidewall 18 suchthat it may be easier for the user to completely separate the lid andthe filter from the rest of the container 12 by grabbing onto thepeelable portion 104 to fully peel away the container 12 from the lidand filter to recycle the container. That is, many recycling facilitiesin the U.S. may not be able to recycle the container unless thecontainer has been separated from the lid and filter due to the beveragesubstance contained therein. The container 12 may be separated from thelid and filter after the spent pod 10 has been removed from the brewingmechanism or while the spent pod 10 is still held within the brewingmechanism. Note that it is within the scope of the invention to have thebeverage within the container drain via the gap 106 and/or an openingformed with an outlet piercing member along the base 16 or on thesidewall 18 to allow the beverage to drain when the pod 10 is in thesecond orientation. In addition, the beverage may exist the gap 106 andpour into a funnel (not shown) which then directs the beverage to pourinto a mug.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C show a cross-sectional view of a brewing chamber200 capable of peeling the portion 104 of the pod 10 having the rimembodiment illustrated in FIG. 2C to form the gap 106. The brewingchamber 200 may include a first potion 202 and a second portion 204. Thefirst portion 202 may include a cap 206 with the inlet piercing element100. The second portion 204 may include a holder 208 with a sidewall 210to form an opening 212 with a depression 214 therein such that the pod10 may be placed into the opening 212 and into the depression 214. Theholder 208 may also have a separating element 216 configured to supportand abut the underside of the rim 22 associated with the peelableportion 104 of the pod 10 such that the pod 10 may not fully insert intothe depression 214 when a user places the pod 10 into the holder 208.That is, as the pod 10 is placed into the opening 212 of the holder 208,the underside of the second extension 22C may engage with the separatingelement 216 and guide the pod 10 into a proper position relative to theseparating element 216 such that the separating element 216 may abutagainst the underside of the first extension 22B adjacent to the line ofweakness 42. In particular, the underside of the second extension 22Cmay have a concave like surface such that as the user places the pod 10into the opening 212 of the holder, the concave surface of the secondextension 22C may assist the user in placing the pod 10 in a consistentmanner to ensure that the separating element 216 is properly alignedadjacent to the line of weakness 42 to separate the peelable portion 104from the sidewall 18 of the container 12.

The first and second portions 202 and 204 may be mechanically engagedsuch that the opening 212 of the holder 208 is accessible to the user toallow the user to place the pod 10 into the opening 212 as illustratedin FIG. 6A. In addition, although not necessary, the holder 208 may beorientated at an angle θ relative to a horizontal plan 218 so that theopening 212 may face a user to allow the user easier access to theopening 212 to place the pod 10 into the holder 208. However, it iswithin the scope of the invention to have the holder 208 be movable ornon-movable and at a variety of orientations as long as the angle θ issuch that the gravitation force, as indicated by the direction arrow g,and the pressure within the pod allows the beverage formed within thepod 10 to drain in a manner described above in reference to FIG. 5B.Moreover, while FIG. 6A shows the holder 208 orientated to have an angleθ, it is within the scope of the invention to have the angle θ be zeroor even tilted in a negative orientation. Furthermore, somecross-sectional views of the pods may not show the beverage substancewithin the first chamber or filter in order to better indicate certainreference numerals in the drawings; however, such cross-sectional viewsof the pods should be viewed as including a beverage substance withinthe filter or within the container 12 in those applications when thefilter may not needed such as when concentrated powder is used to brewcoffee, tea, and hot chocolate cocoa.

FIG. 6B illustrates the first portion 202 partially engaged with thesecond portion 204. The first and second portions 202 and 204 may bemechanically engaged with an actuator (not shown) such as a handle (notshown) so that when the actuator is activated by a user, for example,the first and second portions 202 and 204 may move in a predeterminedmanner relative to each other so that the inlet piercing member 100 maypierce the lid 14, and the second portion 204 may move to a morehorizontal position, as indicated by the direction arrow 220, such thatthe angle θ may be from about −20° to about +20°, and preferably fromabout −5° to about +5°. In this regard, the handle mechanism, brewingmechanism, and its corresponding pod disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.9,549,636 entitled BEVERAGE FORMING DEVICE WITH BEVERAGE OUTLET CONTROL,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, may beutilized to brew a beverage in a more horizontal position. Again, theangle θ may vary as long as the gravitation force and the pressurewithin the pod allows the beverage formed within the pod 10 to drain ina manner described above in reference to FIG. 5B. Although notnecessary, the first portion 202 may orient the cap 206 so that theinlet piercing element 100 penetrates the lid 14 in a substantiallyperpendicular manner, as indicated by the direction arrow 222, tominimize the pierced opening area 226 (see FIG. 6C) on the lid 14 tominimize the chance that beverage within the pod 10 may leak out fromthe opening formed by the inlet piercing element 100.

FIG. 6C illustrates the first portion 202 moving towards the secondportion 204, as indicated by the direction arrow 226, to fully engagewith the second portion 204 as the actuator is further activatedrelative to the FIG. 6B, but prior to the brewing process.Alternatively, the second portion 204 may move towards the first portion201 as indicated by the direction arrow 228, or in some combinationwhere both of the first and section portions 202 and 204 are movedtoward each other simultaneously. As the first portion 202 furtherengages with the second portion 204, the angle θ may further reducerelative to the position illustrated in FIG. 6B or the angle θ mayremain the same. Moreover, as the first portion 202 moves towards thesecond portion 204, the inlet piercing element 100 pierces through thelid 14, and the cap 206 pushes on the upper portion 132 of the lid 14and the rim 22 to further push the pod 10 into the holder 208. Theseparating element 216, however, substantially prevents the peelableportion 104 along with the corresponding rim 22 from being inserted intothe holder 208 such that the peelable portion 104 detaches from thesidewall 18 along the corresponding portion of the line of weakness 42,thereby forming the gap 106 between the rim 22 (which may be attached tothe filter 24) and the sidewall 18 to allow the beverage to drain alongthe gap 106. By way of analogy, if the lid 14 is viewed as a face on aclock, then the cap 206 may be configured so that the peelable portion104 of the rim 22 may be from about 3 O'clock to about 9 O'clock,alternatively from about 4 O'clock to about 8 O'clock, and also fromabout 5 O'clock to about 7 O'clock. Note the portion of the rim 22 thatis peeled from the sidewall 18 is not limited to any particularcircumference as long as there is a sufficient gap 106 to allow thebeverage to pass along the gap. During the brewing process, a desiredbeverage may be brewed by injecting heated liquid into the inletpiercing member 100 and draining the beverage in a manner described inreference to FIG. 5B.

FIG. 6D shows the first and second portions 202 and 204 in theirrespective positions as illustrated in FIG. 6A with the spent the pod10. In other words, once the pod 10 is in a brewing position asdescribed in reference to FIG. 6C, heated water may be injected into thepod 10 in a manner described above in reference to FIG. 5B. The spentpod 10 has an opening 212 formed by the inlet piercing element 100 withthe peelable portion 104 already separated from the sidewall 18. Duringthe brewing process, the sidewall 18 that has been separated from thepeelable portion 104 may expand, due to the heat and pressure within thepod 10 such that the lip 230 of the sidewall 18 may have a spout likeconfiguration to allow the beverage to drain more smoothly from the gap106. To remove the spent pod 10, a user may grab the pre-peelableportion 104 along with the rim 22, and lift the pre-peelable portion 104attached to the filter 24. As the pre-peelable portion 104 is lifted,the expanded lip 230 may abut against the tip 232 of the separatingelement 216 thereby preventing the container 12 from egressing thedepression 214 of the holder 208. And as the user continues to lift thepre-peelable portion 104, the rest of lid 14 and the filter 24 holdingthe beverage substance 26 may be peeled away from the container 12 alongthe line of weakness 42 while the container 12 remains held within theholder 208. Thereafter, the user may remove the container 12 from theholder 208 to be discarded or recycled.

FIG. 7A illustrates a cross-sectional view of the pod 10 with the detailview of the rim 22 illustrated in FIG. 2G placed into the second portion204. As the pod 10 is placed into the opening 212 of the holder 208, theunderside of the second extension 22C with its concave like innersurface may engage with the separating element 216B and guide the pod 10into a proper position so that the separating element 216B is properlyaligned against the underside of the second extension 22C and adjacentto the line of weakness 42. In addition, the sidewall 210 of the holder208 may have a lip 234 configured to be aligned with the secondextension 22C such that the line of weakness 42 may be pre-weakened in amanner discussed above in reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIG. 7B illustrates that as the first portion 202 and the second portion204 engage relative to each other, the separating element 216B separatesthe second extension 22C from the first extension 22B along the line ofweakness 42 such that the second extension 22C of the rim 22 may beutilized to direct the flow of beverage draining from the gap 106. Thatis, the second extension 22C of the rim 22 may be substantially verticalor generally along the direction of the gravitational force g or alongany other orientation to facilitate smooth flow of beverage exiting fromthe pod 10. The first extension 22B may remain attached to the sidewall18 such that the first extension 22B may act as a spout to facilitatedraining the beverage smoothly along the first extension 22B. This mayallow the first and second extensions 22B and 22C to work together toact as a spout and funnel, respectively, to direct the flow of beveragedraining from the gap 106 to minimize splattering of the beverage. Notethat the shape of the first extension 22B and the underside of thesecond extension 22C and the angle ψ (see FIG. 7A) may be varied tocontrol the manner in which the beverage within the pod 10 drains fromthe gap 106 and pours downward towards the mug below the brewing chamber200. In addition, as discussed in reference to FIG. 3B, as the firstportion 202 fully closes relative to the second portion 204, the lip 234of the holder 208 abuts against the second extension 22C, which maycause the second extension 22C to move upwards to pre-weaken the line ofweakness 42.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate that the pod 10 with the rim 22 illustratedin FIG. 2G is capable of brewing in the first and second orientationsalong with other embodiments of the pod 10 illustrated in FIG. 2Athrough 2L. Moreover, other embodiments disclosed herein may be combinedwith any one or more alternative embodiments of the rim 22 to brew inthe first and second orientations as well. For example, the rim 22illustrated in FIG. 2G may have the ledge 36 of the filter 24 extend tothe first extension 22B but not to the second extension 22C asillustrated in FIG. 2L. Also, the rim 22 illustrated in FIG. 2G may havethe ledge 36 of the filter 24 not bonded to the first extension 22B ofthe rim 22 but the ledge 36 may be bonded to the second extension 22C.As another example, the rim 22 illustrated in FIG. 2G may have the ledge36 of the filter 24 bonded along the first and second extensions 22B and22C except near the oblique location 56 where the line of weakness 42may be formed such that there are two distinct peelable bonded areasbetween the ledge 36 of the filter and the rim 22, a first bonded areabetween the ledge 36 and the first extension 22B, and a second bondedarea between the ledge 36 and the second extension 22C. Still further,the rim 22 illustrated in FIG. 2L may have the ledge 36 of the filter 24not bonded to the first extension 22B but have the lid 14 bonded to theledge 20 and the second extension 22C. As such, it is within the scopeof the invention to combine various disclosed embodiments, such as theline of weaknesses, bonding between two substrates, containers, rims,lids, ledges, and/or filters disclosed in the specification with one ormore of other embodiments.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate another embodiment of a separating element216C that may move as indicated by the double direction arrows 236between a retracted position 236A as shown in FIG. 8A and an extendedposition 236B as shown in FIG. 8B relative to the holder 208. FIG. 8Ashows that in the retracted positon 236A, the separating element 216Cmay be flush with the opening 212 formed by the sidewall 210 to allowthe pod 10 to fully insert into the depression 214 of the holder 208.The base 16 of the container 12 may have a cavity 120 at about itscenter. The bottom 30 of the filter 24 may be sealed to the tip 122 ofthe cavity 120 to support the filter 24 when the pod 10 is used in thesecond orientation so that the pathway 40 between the sidewall 32 of thefilter 24 and the sidewall 18 of the container 12 may be substantiallymaintained. Note that the pod 10 with the cavity 120 formed on thecenter of the base 16 may be operable with the brewing chamber 60described in reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B since the outlet piercingmember 46 pierces the base 16 near the edge where the sidewall 18extends upwards rather than at the center of the base 16. The cavity 120formed within the base 16 may have a variety of configurations such assemi-spherical, pyramid, rectangular, and etc.

FIG. 8B shows that as the first portion 202 slides towards the secondportion 204, as indicated by the direction arrow 226, the separatingelement 216C may also slide out relative to the holder 208 towards theextended position 236B. The combined motion of the first portion 202 andthe separating element 216C separates the peelable portion 104 fromsidewall 18 to form the gap 106. In addition, the tip 122 of the cavity120 supports the bottom 30 of the filter 24 such that as the peelableportion 104 begins to separate from the sidewall 18 of the container,the sidewall 32 of the filter 24 adjacent to the gap 106 extends andaway from the sidewall 18 to substantially maintain the pathway 40 andthe gap 106 to provide a path for the beverage 110 within the pod 10 todrain. The first and second portions 202 and 204 and the separatingelement 216C may be mechanically interlinked such that actuation of anactuator may cause the first and second portions 202 and 204 and theseparating element 216C to move in a manner described above. Conversely,once the brewing process is finish, the separating element 216C may moveback to the retracted position 236A shown in FIG. 8A such that it may beeasier for a user to remove the pod 10. Alternatively, the bottom 30 ofthe filter 24 may be deep enough to reach the base 16 of the container12 having a flat bottom and a portion of the bottom 30 of the deepfilter 24 may be sealed to the base 16.

Another alternative mechanical or motorized arrangement may have themovement of the actuator causes the first and second portions to fullyenclose relative to each other and have the separating element 216C movefrom the retracted position 236A to the extended position 236B to peelthe peelable portion 104 and then return to the retracted position 236Aso that the separating element 216C does not interfere with the flow ofbeverage from the gap 106. Moreover, with the separating element 216C inthe retracted position during the brewing process, the beverage drainingfrom the gap 106 may not be contaminated by the separating element 216Csince the separating element 216C remains substantially clean and doesnot come into contact with the beverage. Other separating elements 216Aand 216B may also be mechanically linked or motorized to isolate theseparating element away from the path of the beverage draining from thegap 106 and into the mug to substantially prevent the separating elementfrom contaminating the beverage during the brewing process.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D illustrate another aspect of a modified pod 10capable of peeling the portion 104 of the lid 14 to form a gap 106 thatis larger than the gap 106 illustrated in FIG. 6C. In this embodiment,the pod 10 may include a liner 134 placed between the lid 14 and theledge 36 of the filter 24, which is supported by the rim 22 of thecontainer 12. The liner 134 may be formed from a material that ispermeable to air and water but substantially impermeable to beveragesubstance. Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the liner 134 may besubstantially resistant to being punctured by the tip 114 of the inletpiercing element 100 such that the liner may have sufficient tensilestrength so that the inlet piercing element 100 may pierce through thelid 14, but the tip 114 may push the liner 134 out without tearingthrough the liner 134. As such, the liner 134 may substantially isolatethe inlet piercing element 100 to minimize contamination of the inletpiercing element 100 such that the same inlet piercing element 100 maybe used to inject water into different flavored of pods such as coffee,tea, soup and milk, without the flavor from the spent pod contaminatingthe flavor of the subsequent pods having a different flavor. Inaddition, the liner 134 may also prevent the inlet piercing element 100from getting clogged by the small particles of the beverage substance 26to ensure proper performance of the brewing mechanism. The liner 134 maybe also formed from water filtering material so that the water injectedinto the pod by the inlet piercing element 100 may be purified toimprove the quality of the beverage.

FIG. 9A also shows that the separating element 216 may move between aretracted position 244 and an extended position 246 about a hinge 248 asindicated by the direction arrow 255. For instance, the hinge 248 may bespring loaded to be biased towards the retracted position 244. However,when sufficient force is applied to the separating element 216, theseparating element 216 may move in a counter-clockwise direction towardsthe extended position 246. For example, as the spent pod 10 is removedfrom the second portion 204, the separating element 216 may move towardsthe extended position 246 so that the lip 230 of the sidewall 18 may notinterfere with the tip of the separating element 216.

FIG. 9B shows that as the first portion 202 slides towards the secondportion 204, as indicated by the direction arrow 226, and as discussedabove in reference to FIG. 6C, the inlet piercing element 100 may piercethrough the lid 14, but the liner 134 may resist being pierced andstretched by the inlet piercing element 100 such that the liner 134separates from the lid 14 thereby forming a third chamber 136 betweenthe lid 14 and the liner 134. The third chamber 136 may have a cone likeconfiguration extending across the diameter of the rim 22, for example,with the apex area 138 being the area where the tip 114 of the inletpiercing element 100 pushes on the liner 134. In addition, as theseparating element 216 detaches the peelable portion 104 of the lid 14from the sidewall 18, the tensile strength of the liner 134 maysubstantially prevent the liner 134 from stretching such that the radiusR may be substantially maintained between the apex area 138 and theseparation location 140 along the line of weakness 42. And as theseparation location 140 moves in a clock-wise direction, the separationlocation 140 may also move in an upwardly direction towards the inletpiercing element 100 such that the size of the gap 106 between thesidewall 32 of the filter 24 and the sidewall 18 of the container 12 maybe greater than the gap 106 illustrated in FIG. 6C. For example, theenlarged gap 106 may be illustrated in FIG. 9B by the separationlocation 140 being farther away from the tip of the separating element216 and closer to the tip 114 of the inlet piercing element 100 comparedto the location of the separation location illustrated in FIG. 6C. Theenlarged gap 106 may allow the beverage within the container 12 to flowat a slower rate to allow the beverage to flow more smoothly.

FIG. 9C shows an expanded view of the pod 10 including the liner 134located between the lid 14 and the ledge 36 of the filter 24, which issupported by the rim 22. The outer edges of the lid 14 and the liner134, and the outer edges of the liner 134 and the ledge 36 of the filtermay be sealed together through a variety of methods known to one skilledin the art. For instance, the lid 14 and the liner 134 may be sealedtogether via peelable or more permanent bond; and the liner 134 and theledge 36 may be sealed together via peelable or more permanent bond. Theliner 134 may also have an enforcement patch 142 having a circularconfiguration with an opening 144 at the center. The patch 142 mayfurther strengthen the liner 134 to prevent the liner 134 fromstretching and tearing. In addition, the circular configuration of thepatch 142 may allow the pod 10 to be placed into the second portion 204in any orientation and still have the patch 142 abut the tip 114 of theinlet piercing element 100 when the piercing element 100 is configuredto pierce the lid 14 off centered as illustrated in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 9D shows a perspective view of another alternative embodiment ofthe liner 134A which may be formed from impermeable material thatresists being pierced and stretched by the inlet piercing element 100.The liner 134A may also have a center patch 142A with a one-way valve146 that allows the water injected into the third chamber 136 by theinlet piercing element 100 to exit the third chamber 136 via the one-wayvalve 146 and into the first chamber 28 but prevents the beverage formedwithin the first chamber 28 from entering the third chamber 136. Thatis, the liner 134A may be formed from an impermeable material to liquidsuch that the liquid and/or beverage may not pass through the liner 134Aother than via the one-way valve 146 from the third chamber 136 to thefirst and second chambers 28 and 32 but prevents the liquid beveragefrom passing through the liner 134A and the one-way valve 146 from thefirst and/or second chambers 28 and 32 to the third chamber 136. Thisallows the inlet piercing element 100 to be isolated from the beverageformation within the first chamber 28 to prevent the inlet piercingelement 100 from getting contaminated; and when the pod 10 is brewed inthe second orientation as discussed above, the beverage within the pod10 may be drained without the need for an outlet piercing element sothat cross-contamination from brewing different flavor beverages fromdifferent pods may be eliminated or at least minimized. Alternatively,when the inlet piercing element 100 is configured to pierce the lid 14about its center, the patch 142 that is permeable to liquid may beadhered to the liner 134 about its center to abut the piercing element100 to further protect the permeable liner from piercing by the inletpiercing element.

FIG. 10A illustrates the pod 10 having the liner 134A with the patch 142incorporating the one-way valve 146 directing the flow of liquid 108 asindicated by the direction arrow 148. The pod 10 may be also packed withthe beverage substance in the form of a predetermined portion of pellets150 infused with desired flavors and or ingredients within the firstchamber 28 or the filter 24. As the inlet piercing element 100 injectswater into the third chamber 136, the liquid may exit through theone-way valve 146 as indicated by the direction arrow 148 from the thirdchamber 136 to the first chamber 28 and mix with the pellets 150 withinthe first chamber 28 to formulate a beverage. The beverage may then passthrough the filter 24 and gather in the second chamber 38 and drain viathe gap 106 as indicated by the direction arrows 148. The pellets 150may be contained within the filter 24 during the brewing process and thebeverage may be prevented from entering the third chamber 136. Thepellets 150 may be infused with a variety of flavors such as sweet,fruity, and acidic flavors. The pellets 150 may also be infused withcarbon dioxide (CO₂) to carbonate the beverage. In such instances, theliquid may be provided at a cooler temperature from about 5° C. to about20° C., which allows the beverage to retain the carbon dioxide infusionfor a longer period of time.

FIG. 10B illustrates that the pod 10 may not incorporate a filter 24. Inthis embodiment, the beverage substance 26 may be contained within apouch 152 that may be formed from an edible film that dissolves when thefilm comes into contact with water. As an example, the pouch 152 may bemade from an edible film as disclosed in the US Published ApplicationNo. 2014/0199460, entitled EDIBLE WATER-SOLUBLE FILM, published Jul. 17,2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Notethat other edible films or pouches known to one skilled in the art maybe utilized. The beverage substance 26 contained within the pouch 152may be in the form of powder or liquid. As illustrated in FIG. 10B, thebeverage substance 26 may be wrapped within the pouch 152 to prevent thebeverage substance 26 from draining or pouring out of the gap 106 untilthe inlet piercing element 100 injects water into the third chamber 136and then into the second chamber 38, which in this embodiment in theabsence of the filter 24 is the space between the liner 134A and thecontainer 12. Once liquid passes into the second chamber 38 via theone-way valve 146, the pouch 152 may come into contact with the waterand may begin to dissolve such that most, if not all, of the beveragesubstance 26 may remain within the pod 10 to be mixed with the liquidinjected into the second chamber 38. This may allow the entire beveragesubstance 26 more time to mix with the liquid within the second chamber38 to dissolve more completely with the liquid to improve the quality ofthe beverage formation. In addition, the pouch 152 may be encased withinthe pod 10 so that the pouch 152 may be protected from the outsideelements to prevent premature release of the beverage substance 26contained within the pouch 152. That is, the lid 14 and the container 12may be made from multiple layers including a barrier layer to protectthe contents inside the pod 10 from the outside elements such as oxygenand moisture, as discussed above, and the container 12 may also act as aprotective shell to protect the pouch 152 from being punctured by aforeign object. This allows the pouch 152 to be protected by the pod 10during the packaging process, shipping, handling, and storing until thebrewing process where the pouch 152 releases its beverage substanceafter getting wet with liquid.

The pod 10 may also include a support member 154 configured in acircular disk like shape with a plurality of holes 126 therein to allowthe beverage to pass therethrough. The support member 154 may beprovided between the pouch 152 and the base 16 of the container 12. Whenthe pod 10 is utilized in a first orientation, as illustrated in FIGS.3A and 3B above, the support member 154 may protect the pouch 152 fromtearing by the outlet piercing element 68. That is, as the pod 10 isfully inserted into the cup holder 66 in the first orientation, theoutlet piercing element 68 may pierce through the base 16 of thecontainer 12 and then abut against the support member 154. This mayprevent the tip of the outlet piercing element 68 from coming intocontact with the pouch 152, thereby preventing the film 152 frompotentially tearing and prematurely releasing its beverage substance 26content therein and draining via the outlet piercing element 68 beforethe heated water is injected into the third chamber 136 by the inletpiercing element 100. Accordingly, the pod 10 incorporating the pouch152 may be brewed in the first and second orientations, or mayorientation therebetween the first and second orientation such that thebeverage substance 26 may be retained within the container 12 to mixproperly with liquid such as heated or cool water prior to draining viathe gap 106 or the outlet piercing element 68. Note that when the pod 10is brewed in the second orientation, however, the beverage formed withinthe pod 10 may be drained via the gap 106 so that thecross-contamination between different flavored pods may be eliminated orat least minimized since the beverage does not come into contact with anoutlet piercing element.

The film 152 of the pouch 152 may be edible to consumers, which allowsthe pouch 152 to pack a variety of different beverages such asconcentrated medicines for cold, flue, pain relief, sleeping aid,vitamin supplement, herbal, dietary supplement, and the like. Theconcentrated beverage substance 26 packed within the pouch 152 may alsoinclude baby milk, soup broth, energy drinks, coffee, cold brew coffee,concentrated tea, cocoa, fruit, punch, flavored water, and the like. Thebeverage substance 26 may be provided in different form such as powder,liquid, and a mixture of powder and larger ingredients as discussedbelow. The brewing mechanism may adjust the temperature of the waterdepending on the type of beverage substance 26 packed within the pouch152. For instance, for coffee, the water temperature injected by theinlet piercing element 100 may be from about 80° C. to about 95° C.; andfor brewing tea, the water temperature may be less such as from about70° C. to about 85° C. In order to brew baby milk formula, the patch 142may be formed from a filtering material to purify the water injectedinto the third chamber 136 before passing onto the second chamber 38 bythe one-way valve 146. The patch 142 formed from a water filteringmaterial may remove bacteria and microbial hazards from the waterinjected by the inlet piercing element 100. The one-way valve 146 mayisolate the inlet piercing element 100 from the pouch 152 so that thebaby milk formula 50 is not contaminated by the inlet piercing elementand vice versa. And for brewing baby formula, the water temperatureinjected by the inlet piercing element 100 may be from room temperatureto about 60° C., and in particular from about 40° C. to about 50° C.

FIG. 10C illustrates that the pod 10 may be packed with the beveragesubstance 26 within the second chamber 38 of the container 12. In thisembodiment, the beverage substance 26 may be a mixture of powder 156 andlarger solid ingredients 158. Without the filter incorporated into thepod 10, the size of the gap 106 between the rim 22 and the sidewall 18may be larger than the gap 106 illustrated in FIG. 10A where the filter24 is utilized. This may allow the larger solid ingredients 158 to passthrough the gap 106 once the peelable portion 104 has been separatedfrom the sidewall 18 in a manner discussed above. For example, thebeverage substance 26 may brew a cup of soup with the powder 156 thatdissolve with heated water to form the broth, and the solid ingredients158 forming the vegetables. This allows the pod 10 to brew a cup ofbeverage with a mixture of different size ingredients within thebeverage substance 26 utilizing one pod 10 rather than needing toutilize two separate packages: one pod to brew the powder base broth, asan example; and a separate pouch to pack the solid ingredients to bemixed into the broth.

FIG. 11A shows a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of asecond portion 204A configured to work with the pod 10 having anirregular sidewall 18A, where the second portion 204A may be orientatedto receive the pod 10 such that the angle θ may be between 0° and 90°,and in particular, the angle θ may be greater than about 15°. Theirregular sidewall 18A may form a larger pathway 40 between the sidewall18A and the sidewall 32 of the filter 24. On the outer side of thesidewall 18A, a number of channels 290 may be formed. The second portion204A may include a holder 208A having an inner sidewall 250 configuredto conform to the shape of the outer configuration of the sidewall 18Aof the pod 10 such as the channels 290. In this example, the innersidewall 250 may have a corresponding corrugated configuration 252 sizedto receive the pod 10. The holder 208A may have a first slot 254 and asecond slot 256 adapted to receive a first bumper 258 and a secondbumper 260, respectively. In particular, other than the area between thetwo slots 254 and 256, the inner sidewall 250 of the holder 208A mayhave corrugated configuration sized to conform to the outer corrugatedconfiguration of the sidewall 18A. The holder 208A may also have a mold262 between the two slots 254 and 256 such that when the pod 10 isinserted into the holder 208A, a space 264 may be formed between thesidewall 18A and the mold 262. The space 264 may be greater than therest of the space 266 formed between the sidewall 18A and the rest ofthe inner sidewall 250. The mold 262 may have a cavity 268 adapted toreshape the sidewall 18A as discussed in more detail below. The firstand second bumpers 258 and 260 may have first and second proximal ends270 and 272, respectively, adapted to pivot about a hinge 274 such thatthe distal ends 276 and 278 of the respective bumpers 258 and 260 maymove in and out of their corresponding slots 254 and 256 as indicated bytheir respective direction arrows 280 and 282. The hinge 274 may bespring loaded such that the first and second bumpers 258 and 260 may bebiased toward a retracted position as illustrated in FIG. 11A. Thebrewing mechanism may also include stoppers 284 and 286 positioned toengage with their respective bumpers 258 and 260 as the first portion202 fully engages the second portion 204A as discussed above inreference to FIG. 6C. Note that it is within the scope of the inventionto have the mold 262 be detached from the holder 208A and be associatedwith the bumpers 258 and 260. In this embodiment, the holder may have anelongated slot between the two slots 254 and 256. Moreover, the holder208A may not have the mold 262 to allow the sidewall 108A to expand intothe enlarge space 264 created by the absence of the mold.

FIG. 11B shows the first portion 202 fully engaged with the secondportion 204A but prior to the brewing process as illustrated in FIG. 6C.As the second portion 204A moves from the position shown in FIG. 6Atowards 6C, the angle 0 reduces such that the first and second bumpers258 and 260 engages with their respective stoppers 284 and 286, whichcause the distal ends 276 and 278 of the bumpers 258 and 260,respectively, to engage with the outer channels 290 of the pod 10juxtaposed to the two distal ends. Note that the distal ends 276 and 278may engage with the outer channels 290 more securely compared to asmooth surface since the channels formed a cavity that conforms to theshape of the distal ends. However, it is within the scope of theinvention to have the second portion 204A work with the pod 10 with thesmooth exterior sidewall or any other outer configuration of thesidewall 18A. The two distal ends 276 and 278 may pivot about the hinge274 such that the two distal ends 276 and 278 may pinch theircorresponding outer cavities form by the channels 290 together such thatthe size of the gap 106 formed between the two outer channels 290 beingpinched may be enlarged to improve the flow of beverage draining out ofthe pod 10.

FIG. 11C illustrates the sidewall 18A of the pod 10 being reshapedduring the brewing process within the second portion 204A. As heatedwater is injected into the pod 10 during the brewing process, thetemperature and the pressure within the pod 10 may increase such thatthe sidewall 18A adjacent to the mold 262 may be reshaped. Other thanthe area between the two slots 254 and 256, the inner sidewall 250 ofthe holder 208A may have corrugated configuration sized to support andretain the shape of the sidewall 18A such that the expansion of thesidewall 18A where it is supported by the inner sidewall 250 may beminimized. The enlarged space 264 (see FIG. 11A) between the mold 262and the juxtaposed portion of the sidewall 18A, however, allows theouter channels 290 pinched by the two distal ends 276 and 278 to stretchand expand into the cavity 268 formed within the mold 262, therebyfurther enlarging the gap 106 compared to the gap 106 shown in FIG. 11B,prior to the brewing process, to reduce the flow rate of the beveragedraining from the pod 10. The reduced or slower flow rate of thebeverage through the gap 106 may minimize the turbulence in order tominimize splattering of the beverage as the beverage drains from the gap106.

FIG. 12A shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a pod 10Aincorporating a shield 302 between the filter 24 and the container 12.The shield 302 may have a sidewall 304 that extends upwardly from abottom edge 306 and then extends outwardly from a corner 308 to form afirst extension 310A and a second extension 310B. The first extension310A may extend outwardly in a lateral manner and the second extension310B may extend in an oblique or slanted manner relative from the firstextension 310A such that the second extension 310B may face towards thebase 16 of the container 12. The shield 302 may have a plurality of ribs312 protruding out from the sidewall 304 and extending between thebottom edge 306 and the corner 308. The ribs 312 may maintain a pathway314 between the two sidewalls 18 and 304 to allow the beverage withinthe pod 10A to flow along the pathway 314. The sidewall 304 may alsohave a plurality of holes 320 to allow the beverage to pass through thesidewall 32 of the filter 24 and pass through holes 320 and flow alongthe pathway 314. The shield 302 may have a line of weakness 316 betweenthe first and second extensions 310A and 310B to allow the secondextension 310B to move upwards to be aligned laterally relative to thefirst extension 310A as the cover 62 fully closes relative to the holder66 in a manner described above in reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

The pod 10A may have the first extension 310A of the shield 302 betweenthe rim 22 and the ledge 36 of the filter 24; and the ledge 36 betweenthe first extension 310A and the lid 14. The first extension 310A may behermetically bonded to the rim 22 via the first bond 50; the ledge 36may be hermetically bonded to the first extension 310A via the secondbond 52; and the lid 14 may be hermetically bonded to the ledge 36 viathe third bond 354 such that once the pod 10A is assembled, the pod 10Amay be airtight to substantially prevent air, oxygen, gases, andmoisture from entering and escaping from the pod during manufacturing,handling, shipping, storing, and normal brewing process. That is, thepod 10A may hermitically seal the beverage substance within thecontainer 12 to substantially maintain the freshness of the beveragesubstance therein within an acceptable tolerance level for a desiredperiod of time. In this embodiment, the first bond 50 may be a peelablebond, and the second and third bonds may be either peelable or morepermanent bond. The rim 22 may have a line of weakness 42 such that whenthe pod 10A is used in the second orientation in the manner describedabove in reference to FIGS. 6-11, a portion of the rim 22 may separatefrom the sidewall 18, along with the adjacent portion of the shield 302,as discussed below, to form a gap between the sidewall 18 and the shield302.

Alternatively, the shield 302 may be formed from a polymer material suchas polypropylene and polyethylene such that the first extension 310A maybe ultrasonically welded to the rim 22 with sufficient bonding, asdiscussed in more details below, to hermitically seal the beveragesubstance within the container 12 yet allow the first extension 310A topeel away from the rim 22 upon an application of sufficient force uponthe second extension 310B. In the event that the weld between the firstsecond 310A and the rim 22 may be stronger than the force applied uponthe second extension 310B such that the first second 310A does not peelaway from the rim 22, a portion of the rim 22 may separate from thesidewall 18, along with the adjacent portion of the shield 302 to form agap between the sidewall 18 and the shield 302, as discussed in moredetail below.

FIG. 12B shows a perspective view of the shield 302 having the sidewall304 with plurality of ribs 312 extending between the corner 308 and thebottom edge 306 along a longitudinal axis 318. The sidewall 304 may havea plurality of holes 320 between the ribs 312. Alternatively, thesidewall 304 may not have the holes 320. Instead, the sidewall 304 maybe formed from a web of ribs 312 with space between the ribs 312. Thismay allow the sidewall 304 to be more flexible to allow the sidewall 304to conform to the filter 24 during the brewing process when the pod 10Ais brewed in the second orientation. The first extension 310A may extendoutwardly from the corner 308 with the second extension 310B furtherextending in a downward sloping manner relative to the first extension310A. The sidewall 304 of the shield 302 may form an opening 322 definedby the corner 308. The opening 322 may receive the filter 24, and theledge 36 may be bonded to the first extension 310A.

When the pod 10A is used in the second orientation, the shield 302 maysupport and protect the filter 24 from the separating element 216utilized to separate the rim 22 from the sidewall 18 as illustrated inFIGS. 6 through 11, for example. That is, the shield 302 may support andprotect the filter 24 from unintentionally tearing along the ledge 36 orthe corner 34 of the filter by the separating element 216 as the firstportion 202 moves towards the second portion 204, or vice versa, and incombination thereof. This may allow flexibility in terms of the type offilter materials that may be utilized to form the filter 24 of the pod10A. For instance, the filter 24 may be formed from commerciallyavailable permeable materials such as paper or polymer materials buteach material has its own attributes, which may be suitable as a filterdepending on the application and the type of beverage being brewed. Ingeneral, paper materials are commonly used to form the filter within thesingle-serve pods, such as in K-Cup pods, for the following attributes:(1) paper filter is generally biodegradable; (2) paper filter generallyallows the beverage to pass without altering the taste of the beverage;(3) paper generally bonds well to the interior sealing layer of thecontainer such that the pods can be produced at a high rate; (4) oncethe paper material has been formed into its intended cup like shape, itgenerally maintains its desired shape such as when the filter sidewallhas been corrugated to increase the surface area of the sidewall toallow the beverage to flow more freely; and (5) paper filters generallycost less than the polymer materials like nylon.

While there are a number of positive attributes to utilizing paperfilter for the application of single-serve pods, the paper filter,however, is more prone to tearing and puncturing, especially when it iswet and under increase internal pressure during the brewing process,compared to a nylon filter, for example. Moreover, the filter 24 may bemore susceptible to tearing when the pod is brewed in the secondorientation versus the first orientation as discussed above. A thicker,denser, and/or stronger paper filter may be utilized to reduce the riskof tearing and puncturing but such thicker paper filter may restrict theflow of beverage therethrough, which can alter the taste of thebeverage. With the shield 302 protecting the filter 24 from tearing andpuncturing, however, a traditional paper filter material may be utilizedto form the filter 24 within the pod 10A to take advantage of thepositive attributes of the paper filter as noted above. It is however,within the scope of the invention to utilize polymer material, thickerpaper filter, and paper filter in a single layer or in multiple layerswhere different materials may be combined to form a unitary layer withthe variety of pod embodiments disclosed in this application. Moreover,when the pod 10A is brewed in the second orientation, the ribs 312extending along the longitudinal axis 318 and protruding outwardly fromthe sidewall 304 may maintain the pathway 314 between the two sidewalls304 and 18 to ensure that the beverage may flow along the pathway 314 todrain the beverage near the top side of the pod 10A.

FIG. 12C shows yet another embodiment of a pod 10B incorporating ashield 302A where the sidewall 304 in this embodiment may be shorterthan the sidewall illustrated in FIG. 12A. Moreover, the filter 24A inthis embodiment may have its sidewall 32 extending upwardly from thebottom 30 and terminate at a distal end 80. The sidewall 32 of thefilter 24A may be bonded to the sidewall 304 of the shield 302 at afourth bond area 324, which may be near the distal end 80. The filter 24may be bonded to the sidewall 304 in a variety of methods known to oneskilled in the art. For instance, the first bond area 324 between thesidewall 304 and the side wall 32 may be formed utilizing similar heatsealed or ultrasonic weld method utilize to bond traditional paperfilter to the interior sealing layer of the container 12 adjacent to thedistal end 80. The first extension 310A of the shield 302A may besandwiched between the rim 22 and the lid 14. The first extension 310Amay be bonded to the rim 22 via the first bond 50; and the lid 14 may bebonded to the first extension 310A via the second bond 52. In thisembodiment, the first bond 50 may be a peelable bond, and the secondbond may be either peelable or more permanent bond. The second extension310B may extend outwardly in an oblique manner relative to the firstextension 310A. The shield 302 may have a plurality of ribs 312protruding from the sidewall 304 to maintain the pathway 314 between thetwo sidewalls 304 and 18 in a manner discussed above. When the pod 10Bis brewed in the second orientation, the separating element 216 or thehook 288 may abut against underside of the second extension 310B nearthe oblique location 56 to peel away the first extension 310A from therim 22 to allow the beverage within the pod 10B to drain along thepathway 314 formed between the two sidewalls 304 and 18. Note that thefirst extension 310A and the rim 22 may have sufficient structuralrigidity to peel the first extension 310A away from the rim 22 morereadily along the peelable first bond 50 than other areas of thecontainer 12. That is, the outer diameter of the rim 22 may be less thanthe diameter of the oblique location 56 formed on the shield 302 toallow the separating element 216 to abut against the oblique location 56such that the force applied by the separating element 216 near theoblique location 56 may transfer to the first extension 310A and therigidity of the rim 22 may aid in the first extension 310A peeling awayalong the first bond 50 in a consistent manner. As such, in thisembodiment, the shield 302 may be separated or peeled away from the rim22 to allow the beverage to drain via a newly formed gap between thefirst extension 310A and the rim 22 without the need for a line ofweakness on the rim 22. Moreover, with the pod 10B having the filter 24Abonded to the sidewall 304 along the fourth bond area 324, the overallthickness of the rim area including the lid 14, first extension 301A,and the rim 22 may be less than the thickness of the rim area includingthe thickness of the filter disclosed in pod 10A as disclosed above inreference to FIG. 12A. The reduced thickness of the rim area of the pod10B may be similar to the thickness of the rim area of K-Cup pod suchthat the pod 10B may work readily with the brewers in the market thatwork with K-Cup pods.

FIG. 12D shows an alternative embodiment of the pod 10B illustrated inFIG. 12C. In this embodiment, the container 12 may be viewed as dividedinto at least two parts: a first part 82 and a second part 84. The firstpart 82 may be the shield 302A, and the second part 84 may be a revisedcontainer 12A with a sidewall 18B that terminates at the bend locationor its distal end 20B without extending outwardly to form the rim 22.The first extension 310A of the shield 302 may nest over the distal end20B of container 12, and the exterior side of the sidewall 304 may bebonded to the inner side of the sidewall 18B via a fifth bond 326, andthe lid 14 may be bonded to the first extension 310A via the second bond52. The first part 82 and second part 84 may be bonded together via thefifth bond 326 so that both parts may be hermitically bonded together ina manner described above such that air, oxygen, gases, and moisture donot pass through the bonded area during the normal manufacture,shipping, inventory, and use of the pod 10B. In particular, the fifthbond 326 may be a peelable bond and the second bond 52 may be eitherpeelable or permanent bond. As such, the first extension 310A of theshield 302 may form the rim 22 of the container 12A. When the pod 10B isbrewed in the second orientation, the separating element 216 or the hook288 may abut against underside of the first extension 310A to peel awaythe shield 302 from the distal end 20B of the container 12A along thefifth bond 326 to allow the beverage within the pod 10B to drain alongthe pathway 314 formed by the ribs 312 or near the top side of the pod10B.

FIG. 12E shows that the fifth bond 326 may cover the area around thesidewall 304 and the first extension 310A near the distal end 20B toprovide a larger bonding area between the shield 302 and the container12A to improve the integrity of the bond between the two parts. Notethat it is within the scope of the invention to have the interiorsealing layer of the sidewall 18B be a peelable bond layer which is thenheat sealed to the exterior layer of the shield 302 at the distal end20B rather than utilizing the fifth bond 326. Alternatively, theexterior layer of the shield may be a peelable bond layer that is heatsealed to the interior layer of the sidewall 18B rather than utilizingthe fifth bond 326. In addition, the second extension 310B may beshorter than the same extension illustrated in FIG. 12D. A shortersecond extension 310B may provide a stiffer extension so that a forceapplied to the shorter second extension 310B by the hook 288, forexample, may be transferred more efficiently to the first extension 310Ato peel the first extension 310A away from the sidewall 18B.

FIG. 13A shows an alternative pod 400 in an upright expanded perspectiveview along a longitudinal axis 402 configured to brew beverages such ascoffee and espresso; FIG. 13B shows an inverted expanded perspectiveview of the pod 400 along the axis 402 to show the top and bottom views,respectively, of the various components of the pod 400; and FIG. 13Cshows a plurality of holes formed within the base of the filter forbrewing low pressure coffee, as discussed in more detail below. The pod400 may include a container 404, a filter 406 adapted to receivebeverage ingredient (not shown), a distributor 412, and a lid 414. Thecontainer 404 may have a base 416 that extends upwardly to form asidewall 418 and then extends outwardly to form a rim 420 defining anopening 460. The container 404 may be formed from a variety of materialsand from single or multilayered sheets sandwiched together to form ahermetically sealed barrier to protect the beverage ingredientscontained therein from atmospheric oxygen entering the container. Thecontainer may be formed from a variety of materials known to one skilledin the art. In this regard, the container 404 may be formed in a mannerdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,336,498 issued Jul. 2, 2019, entitled“CONTAINER WITH IMPROVED PUNCTUREABILITY”, by Foster et al., which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In particular, thecontainer 404 may be formed by a variety of molding process such asinjection molding and thermoforming process of thermoplastic material,which may be substantially impermeable and imperforate. For example, thethermoplastic materials may include polyolefins such as polypropyleneand polyethylene, polystyrene, nylon, and other polymers; and inparticular, thermoplastic material may be a bio-based resin, readilyrecyclable, and/or comprise of at least a portion of recycled materialsuch as a recycled polypropylene base resin.

The filter 406 may have a base 422 that extends upwardly to form asidewall 424 and then extends outwardly to form an extension 426, whichmay be defined by one or more extensions including a first extension 428and a second extension 430. The first extension 428 may define anopening 454 adapted to receive the beverage ingredient (not shown). Thefirst extension may extend outwardly to a predetermined distance asindicated by a reference numeral 431, and the second extension 430 mayextend farther therefrom outwardly in a beveled manner or downwardsloping manner relative to the first extension 428 towards the base 422.The first extension 428 may extend outwardly at a distance, as indicatedby the reference numeral 431, such that the first extension 428 mayextend farther out laterally than the rim 420 to allow the firstextension 428 to lay upon or overlap the rim 420 when the filter 406 isplaced within the container 404. The base 422 of the filter 406 may havea plurality of holes 436 where the size and number of the holes 436 maybe predetermined to control the flow of the beverage through the holes436 to provide a desired pressure within the filter 406, as discussed inmore detail below. The base 422 may also have at least one retainer wall432 with a plurality of slits 434, as discussed in more detail below.

The container 404 may be adapted to receive the filter 406 and the firstextension 428 of the extension 426 may be releasably sealed or adheredto the rim 420 of the container 404 where upon a force applied to theunderside of the second extension 430, the first extension 428 may peel,separate, and/or snap off from the rim 420. In this regard, thereleasable bond(s) may be utilized such as the embodiments disclosed inUS Published Application No. 2014/0161936, published Jun. 12, 2014,entitled CONTAINER WITH REMOVALE PORTION by Trombetta et al., which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Alternatively, thefirst extension 428 of the filter 104 may be ultrasonically sealed tothe rim 420 of the container 404 such as with the linear or torsionalultrasonic welding as known to one of skilled in the art. For instance,torsional welding method may apply high-frequency vibrational energytangentially as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: (1) U.S. Pat. No.10,554,004 entitled “Sonotrode, device and method for producing a join”issued Feb. 4, 2020; and (2) U.S. Pat. No. 10,532,424 entitled “Devicefor welding components by means of ultrasound” issued Jan. 14, 2020,both Assigned to Telsonic Holding AG, which are hereby both incorporatedby references in their entirety. Alternatively, liner ultrasonic weldingmethod may be utilized to weld the first extension 428 to the rim 420.

FIG. 13A shows that the rim 420 of the container 404 may have an energydirector 437 protruding upwardly to engage with the underside of thefirst extension 428 of the filter 406 to absorb the energy from anultrasonic welding method or apparatus in a more predetermined manner. Avariety of welding methods known to one skilled in the art may beutilized such as a linear ultrasonic and torsional ultrasonic weldingmethods such that the energy director 437 protruding from the rim 420may melt and infuse with the first extension 428 of the filter. And FIG.13B shows that the underside of the rim 420 may have a line of weakness442 similar to the line of weakness 42 discussed above in reference toFIG. 12A such that when the pod 400 is used in the second orientation inthe manner described below, a portion of the rim 420 may separate fromthe sidewall 424, along with the adjacent portion of the first extension428, as discussed below, to form a gap between the attached portion ofthe rim 420 and the extension 426.

The first extension 428 may have a step 403 formed in the inner side ofthe first extension 428. The distributor 412 may have a flange 413 thatextends outwardly to rest within the step 403 of the filter 406. Thedistributor 412 may also have a skirt 446 adapted to engage with theinner side 440 of the sidewall 424 juxtaposed to the first extension 428such that a portion of the flange 413 that extends out from the skirt446 may rest within the step 403 and flush with the first extension 428.FIG. 13C shows a plurality of holes 436 in the base 422 of the filter406 where the size and number of the holes 436 may be predetermined tocontrol the flow of the beverage through the holes 436 to provide adesired low-pressure within the filter 406 to brew coffee for example.

The distributor 412 may have a base 442 with an outer skirt 446 adaptedto engage with the inner side 440 of the sidewall 424 juxtaposed to thefirst extension 428 such that the base 442 may be adjacent to the firstextension 428 of the extension 426 when assembled together. The skirt446 may extend upwardly and/or downwardly to engage with the inner side440 of the sidewall. The base 442 may have a protrusion 444 extendingtowards the inner space within the filter 406. The protrusion 444 mayform a cavity 462 sized to receive an inlet liquid injection member, asdiscussed in more detail below, such as an inlet needle to inject heatedwater into the filter 406. The base 442 may have a plurality of holes448 to allow the heated water to pass therethrough to substantiallydistribute the water over the opening 454 of the filter 406. The size ofthe holes 448 may be less than the average size of the beverageingredient. This may substantially prevent the beverage ingredient fromentering the protrusion area 444 thereby substantially preventing thebeverage ingredient from clogging the inlet injection member, which cancause the brewing mechanism to malfunction.

The sidewall 424 may have one or more ribs 425 extending outwardly. Theextending ribs 425 may be formed on the exterior side 427 of thesidewall 424 adjacent to the extension 426. As the filter 406 isinserted into the container 404, the extending ribs 425 may engage withthe sidewall 418 of the container 404 to center the filter 406 relativeto the container 404 such that the filter 406 may be substantiallyaligned with the filter 406 along the axis 402 of the pod 400. Thedistributor 412 may be placed over the beverage ingredient packed withinthe filter 406. The protrusion 444 may have an inverted bell like shapeto enlarge the area of the cavity 462 adapted to receive the inletmember of the brewing mechanism. The enlarged cavity 462 may also allowthe outer area of the distributor 412 to flex and bend more readily.

The manner in which the beverage ingredient is packed within the filter406 may be predetermined to control the density of the beverageingredient 410 therein to substantially prevent air pockets, gaps, andchannels from forming within the ingredient 410 during manufacturing,shipping, handling, and during the brewing process. As a general rule,beverage ingredient 410 with greater density may require greaterpressure to push the heated liquid through the beverage ingredient 410,which can extract more intense flavor from the beverage ingredient 410in less time. Once the first extension 428 of the filter 406 isseparated from the rim 420, as discussed in more detail below, thedistributor 412 may flex to substantially contain the ingredient 410within the filter 406 to avoid forming air pockets therein. The lid 414may be placed over the filter 406 and the outer edge 450 of the lid 414may be sealed and/or bonded to the first extension 428 of the filter 406and a portion of the base 442 of the distributor 412. In particular, thelid 414 may be formed from a flexible liner with sufficient tensilestrength to resist tearing due to the high-pressure during the brewingprocess.

The pressure developed within the beverage ingredient 410 can determinethe type of beverage brewed such as coffee under lower pressure andespresso under higher pressure. A number of other factors can determinethe pressure developed within the beverage ingredient 410 such as thepressure and temperature of the heated water injected into the beverageingredient, the grind size and density of the beverage ingredient, thesize and number of holes 436 in the base 422 of the filter 406, thedepth of the beverage ingredient, and etc. FIG. 13C shows an enlargeview of the base 422 having a predetermined number of holes 436 sized tobrew low pressure coffee by allowing the beverage to pass therethroughbut substantially prevent the beverage ingredient packed within thefilter 406 from passing through the holes due to pressure within thefilter during the brewing process. For instance, the sidewall 424 may besubstantially solid to direct most of the beverage, if not all, to passthrough the holes 436 on the base 422. Moreover, the extending ribs 425extending from the sidewall 424 may substantially maintain its shapeunder the desired brewing pressure conditions. The number and/or size ofthe holes 436 formed in the base 422 may be predetermined to providesufficient resistance to flow of beverage to develop the desired brewingpressure within the beverage ingredient to brew a desired beverage. Forexample, to brew espresso under high-pressure from about 6 to 15 bars,the coffee beans may be finely grounded where the average grind size maybe from about 40 to about 450 microns, and to brew coffee underlow-pressure from about 1 to 4 bars, the coffee may be grounded morecoarsely where the average grind size may be from about 500 to about1,000 microns; and to substantially prevent the grinds from passingthrough the holes, the size of the holes 436 may be less than theaverage grind size of the coffee grounds. The holes may have a varietyof shapes such as circular, square, rectangular, regular and irregularconfiguration.

Along with the size of the holes 436, the number of holes 436 providedin the base 422 may be predetermined to develop the desired pressurewithin the filter 406 to brew the intended beverage such as espresso orcoffee. That is, the brewing mechanism may inject heated water into thepod 400 at a pressure up to about 19 bars but some of the pressure maybe released through the coffee ground and through the filter 406 suchthat the espresso flavor beverage may be extracted from the finer coffeeground at about 8 bars, for example, with the difference of 11 bars ofpressure being released, in this example. That is, the pressure withinthe filter may largely depend upon the size of the beverage ingredientand the size and number of holes 436. For instance, for low-pressurecoffee, coarser ground coffee may be packed within the filter 406 andthe size and number of holes 436 may be greater than that of the holes436 to brew espresso, and substantial pressure may be released throughthe coffee ground and through the filter 406 such that coffee may beextracted from the coarser coffee ground at about 3 bars, for example,with the difference of 16 bars of pressure being released.

In general, for low-pressure coffee, the size of the holes 436 may beless than an average grind size or less than the lower end of thedistribution of the grind sizes to brew coffee where the average grindsize may be from about 450 to about 1,000 microns; and in particularfrom 500 to about 700 microns. Note that some soluble may have anaverage grind size of about 1,000 to 2,500 microns. For instance, coffeeground may have grind size distribution from 500 to 700 microns with anaverage or mean grind size of about 600 microns. With such grind sizedistribution and average, the size of the holes 436 to brew coffee maybe less than about 600 microns or less than 500 microns to substantiallyprevent coffee ground from passing through the holes and to release thepressure within the coffee grounds to brew coffee. Alternatively, thepod 400 may include a paper filter between the holes 436 and the coffeeground, although not necessary, to allow the beverage to pass whilepreventing the smaller coffee sediments from passing therethrough duringbrewing process. Moreover, it is within the scope of the invention tohave the size and number of holes 436 in the base 422 to be independentof the grind size of the beverage ingredient 410 where the size of theholes 436 may be sized to substantially prevent the ingredient sedimentfrom passing through the holes 436.

FIG. 13B shows at least one retainer wall 432 extending from the base422. In particular, the base 422 may have a plurality of retainer walls432 extending therefrom with layers of retainer walls 432 forming apathway between two adjacent retainer walls 432, and with a plurality ofslits 434 on each of the retainer wall 432. The retainer walls 432 mayhave distal ends that contour the shape of the inner side of the base416 of the container 404. The width of the slits 434 may be sized toserve as a second filtering step such that beverage ingredients that mayhave pass through the holes 436 may be substantially prevented frompassing through the slits 434 while allowing a predetermine finebeverage ingredients to pass therethrough.

FIG. 14A shows an expanded perspective view of an alternative pod 400Aalong its longitudinal axis configured to brew high-pressure beveragessuch as espresso; and FIG. 14B shows an inverted expanded perspectiveview of the pod 400A to show the top and bottom views, respectively, ofthe various components of the pod 400A. The pod 400A may include thesame container 404, the distributor 412, and the lid 414 as discussedabove in reference to FIG. 13A. The pod 400A includes a second filter406A adapted to receive beverage ingredient (not shown) to brew highpressure beverages such as espresso. The filter 406A may have ribs 425Aformed on the exterior side 427A of the sidewall 424A, and the ribs 425Amay extend from the extension 426A to the base 422A or some portionthereof. The ribs 425A may provide structural support to the sidewall424A of the filter 406A to substantially prevent the sidewall 424A fromexpanding, and maintaining a pathway open between the sidewalls 424A and418 during a high-pressure brewing process. The filter 406A may have astep 403A in the first extension 428A adapted to receive the samedistributor 412 in a manner discussed above. FIG. 14C shows a pluralityof holes 436A in the base 422A of the filter 406A where the size andnumber of the holes 436A may be predetermined to control the flow of thebeverage through the holes 436A to provide a desired high-pressurewithin the filter 406A to brew espresso for example. In this regard, thesize of the holes 436A for the high-pressure brewing applications may besmaller than the holes 436A for the low-pressure brewing applications;and the number of holes 436A provided in the base 422A may be fewer thanthe holes 436 provided in the base 422.

FIG. 15A shows enlarge views of the extension 426 of the filter 406 andthe rim 420 of the container 404 of the pod 400 in reference to FIG.13A. The first extension 428 may have the step 403 formed in the innerside of the first extension 428. The distributor 412 may have a flange413 that extends outwardly to rest within the step 403 of the filter 406such that the top surfaces of the flange 413 and the base 442 of thedistributor 412 may be substantially flush with the first extension428A. The energy director 437 may protrude upwards from the top side 421of the rim 420, and the line of weakness 442 may be formed on theunderside 423 of the rim 420. In this embodiment, the energy director437 may be located at about the midpoint between the distal end 429 ofthe rim and the sidewall 418 of the container 404. And the line ofweakness 442 may be between the energy director 437 and the sidewall 418of the container 406 such that the line of weakness 442 divides the rim420 into an outer section 425 and an inner section 427. The energydirector 427 may have a variety of configuration such as asemi-circular, square, rectangular, triangular shape and the like. Forinstance, FIG. 15B illustrates that the energy director may have atriangular shape with a base width “B” from 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm, a height“H” from 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm, and a tip width “T” form 0.02 mm to 0.2 mm;and in particular, the triangular energy director may a base width from0.4 mm to 0.6 mm, a height from 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm, and a tip width form0.05 mm to 0.10 mm. In particular, the energy director may be sized andthe ultrasonic energy applied to the energy director 437 may be suchthat the sealing force around the circumference of the rim 420 may bewithin a predetermined sealing force range such as: from 10N to 40Nforce (Newton Force); and in particular, from 15N to 35N force; andfurther in the range from 20N to 30N force. These sealing force rangesmay allow the pod 400 to hermitically seal the ingredients within thepod while substantially preventing the rim 420 of the container fromunintentionally separating from the first extension 428 of the filterprior to brewing the pod such as during handling and shipping. Thecontainer 404 and the filter 406 may be made of similar material such aspolypropylene or polyethylene where ultrasonically welding two similarmaterials together may result in more consistent seal between the energydirector 437 and the first extension 428 around the rim 420 of thecontainer; and both parts may be made through an injection moldingprocess to form the energy director 437 and the line of weakness 442 inthe container 404 in a more consistent manner. Note that it is withinthe scope of the invention to form the container through blow moldingand thermoforming methods. In addition, providing the energy director437 on the rim 420 of the container 404 may provide a more consistentsealing force between the low pressure filter 406 and the high pressurefilter 406A since the same container 404 with the same energy director437 is utilized for both filters 406 and 406A such that the variances inthe dimensions of the energy director 437 may be minimized.

In general, the line of weakness 442 may be formed such that the forcerequired to separate the outer section 425 from the inner section 427 ofthe rim 420 may be in the upper range of the force required to separatethe energy director 437. For example, if the energy director 427 isdesigned to separate between 20N to 30N based on predeterminedultrasonic energy delivered by the welding machine, then the line ofweakness 442 may be designed to separate at about 30N. This way, ifenergy director 437 does not separate upon an application of about 30Ndue to variances in the size of the energy director 437 and/or theamount of energy applied to the energy director 437, then the line ofweakness 442 may separate such that the outer section 425 of the rim 420may peel away with first extension 428, as discussed in more detailbelow, thereby forming a gap between the inner section 427 and the firstextension 428 to allow the beverage to drain via the gap. That is, theenergy director 437 and the line of weakness 442 may provide twoindependent means of separating the first extension 428 from the rim 420where the line of weakness 442 may serve as an alternative separationarea in the event the energy director 437 does not separate as intended,or vice versa.

FIG. 15C shows an alternative embodiment of the container 404 where theenergy director 437 and the line of weakness 442 may be located closerto the distal end 429 of the rim 420 relative to the locations of thetwo respective elements illustrated in FIG. 15A. This may allow theforce applied to the underside 430A of the second extension 430 to be incloser proximity to the energy director 437 such that the applied forcemay be more directly applied to the energy director 437 for moreconsistent separation of the energy director 437. Moreover, the width ofthe inner section 427 may be wider relative to the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 15A such that in the event that the line of weakness442 separates rather than the energy director 437, the inner section 427may serve as a funnel to drain the beverage more smoothly.

FIG. 15D illustrates another alternative embodiment where the energydirector 437 may protrude downwards from the underside 428A of the firstextension 428, and the line of weakness 442 formed on the underside 420Aof the rim 420. Note that it is within the scope of the invention tohave the line of weakness 442 on the top side 420B of the rim 420.

FIG. 16A shows the pod 400 of FIG. 13A assembled such that the retainerwalls 432 extending from the base 422 of the filter 406 may be adjacentto the base 416 of the container 404. Note that a pathway 455 may beformed between the two sidewalls 418 and 424. During the assemblyprocess, the container 404 may be placed inside an opening formed withina platform and the filter 406 may be placed inside such that the firstextension 428 may rest upon the energy director 437 protruding from therim 420, in a manner discussed above. Ultrasonic welding may applyenergy over the first extension 428 or on the underside 423 of the rim420 to infuse the energy director 437 to the first extension 428. Notethat with the base 422 of the filter 406 being adjacent to the base 416of the container 404, the pod 400 may be utilized in the secondorientation but may not be utilized in the first orientation since thereis no room for the outlet piercing element to pierce through the base416 of the container and enter the container 404 due to the base 422 ofthe filter.

FIG. 16B shows an alternative embodiment of the pod 400B where the base422 of the filter 406 may be apart from the base 416 of the container404 such that a chamber 470 may be formed between the two bases 416 and422 to allow the tip of the outlet piercing element to pierce throughthe base 416 and enter the chamber 470. This may allow the pod 400B tobrew in the first and second orientations.

FIGS. 17A through 17D show cross-sectional views of the pod 400 indifferent stages to illustrate a manner and method of brewing a beveragewith the pod 400. In this example, FIG. 17A shows the pod 400 in asubstantially horizontal position or second orientation as discussedabove, packed with beverage ingredient 410 within the filter 406. In thesecond orientation, the pod 400 may be juxtaposed to an inlet member 500having an inlet end 502 and a tip 504 with a gasket 506 therebetween.The member 500 may be adapted to slide relative to the pod 400 asindicated by the double ended direction arrow 508, or the pod may beadapted to slide relative to the member 500, or both elements 500 and400 may be adapted to slide or move relative to each othersimultaneously or sequentially. The member 500 may be positionedrelative to the pod 400 such that the tip 504 may be juxtaposed to thelid 414 in order to penetrate the cavity 462 of the distributor 412. Thepod 400 may also be juxtaposed to a detaching member 510 position behindthe second extension 430 at about the six O'clock position. Thedetaching member 510 and the pod 400 may be adapted to slide relative toeach other as indicated by the double ended direction arrow 512 whereone or both elements 400 and 510 may move relative to each othersimultaneously or sequentially.

FIG. 17B shows that to begin the brewing process, the inlet member 500may pierce, puncture, or cut through the lid 414, or use any otherapparatus or method known to one skilled in the art, and the tip 504 mayrest within the cavity 462, and the gasket 506 may engage with the lid414 surrounding the member 500 to substantially prevent the water fromleaking out of the opening between the member 500 the lid 414 formed bythe punctured hole within the lid. The detaching mechanism 510 may movetowards an extended position as indicated by the direction arrow 512 toengage with the second extension 430 to separate the first extension 428from the rim 420 sealed by the energy director 437 near the six O'clockposition thereby forming a gap 484 between the extension 426 and the rim420 that may extend from about four O'clock to about eight O'clockpositions; and in particular from about five O'clock to about sevenO'clock positions. Note that in this example, the force applied by thedetaching mechanism 510 may be greater than the sealed force provided bythe energy director 437 such that the first extension 428 may separatefrom the rim 420.

The second section 430 may taper towards the base 416 of the container404 such that the underside of the second section 430 may form a concaveshape or hook to allow the detaching member 510 to engage with theunderside of the second section 430 to separate the first extension 428from the rim 420 more consistently. The newly formed gap 484 may form apart of the second pathway 455 between the two sidewalls 418 and 424 andalso between the adjacent extending ribs 425 to allow the beverageformed within the pod 400 to flow along the second pathway 455 and drainthrough the gap 484, as discussed in more detail below.

FIG. 17C illustrates that as the detaching member 510 moves furthertowards the inlet member 500 as indicated by the direction arrow 512,the second extension 430 may flex to allow the detaching member 510 topass and rest on the opposite side of the extension such that thedetaching member 510 may not interfere with the beverage draining out ofthe gap 484. Once the gap 484 is formed, a combination of the rim 420and the concave shape of second extension 430 that extends downwardlymay act as a spout to allow the beverage to pour from the gap 484 in asmooth manner to minimize spattering of the beverage. This may provide aclear path for the beverage to drain from the pod 400 without coming tocontact with the brewing mechanism to avoid contaminating the beverage,as discussed in more detail below.

FIG. 17D shows the inlet member 500 injecting heated water 514 into thecavity 462, and the heated water 514 may flow along the path asindicated by the direction arrows 572 and 574, and the beverage 596extracted from the beverage ingredient 410 may flow along the path asindicated by the direction arrows 576, 578, and 580, and drain out ofthe gap 484 as indicted by the direction arrow 590 and pour the beverage596 into a mug 594. Accordingly, once the beverage 596 passes throughthe holes 436, the beverage 596 may flow along the pathway 455 and drainout of the gap 484, and pour into the mug 594 unobstructed by thebrewing mechanism to substantially avoid contaminating the beverage andthe brewing mechanism.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrates the application of the line of weakness442 where the force applied by the detaching mechanism 510 may be lessthan the sealing force of the energy director 437 such that the firstextension 428 may not separate from the rim 420 along the energydirector 437 but the force applied by the detaching mechanism 510 may begreater than the strength of the line of weakness 442. Under suchcircumstances, as illustrated in FIG. 18B, force applied by thedetaching mechanism 510 may separate the outer section 423 from the rim420 along the line of weakness 442 such that the outer section 423 mayremain attached to the first extension 428 and forming the gap 484between the inner section 427 of the rim 420 and the first extension 428to allow the beverage 596 to drain therethrough. As such, the energydirector 437 and the line of weakness 442 may provide two independentmeans of separating the first extension 428 from the rim 420 where theline of weakness 442 may serve as an alternative separation area in theevent the energy director 437 does not separate as intended, or viceversa.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many moreembodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of thisinvention. Moreover, various features and functionalities described inthis application and Figures may be combined individually and/orplurality of features and functionalities with others. Accordingly, theinvention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claimsand their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage pod comprising: a container having abase that extends upwardly to form a sidewall and extends outwardly toform a rim to define an opening, the rim having a line of weaknessdefining an outer section and an inner section of the rim where theinner section is juxtaposed to the sidewall; a filter having a filterbase that extends upwardly to form a filter sidewall and extendsoutwardly to form an extension to define an opening adapted to receivebeverage ingredient, where the opening of the container is adapted toreceive the filter such that the extension is juxtaposed to the rim ofthe container; and an energy director between the rim of the containerand the extension of the filter.
 2. The beverage pod according to claim1, where the energy director protrudes from the rim of the container. 3.The beverage pod according to claim 1, where the energy directorprotrudes from adjacent to a distal end of the rim of the container. 4.The beverage pod according to claim 1, where the energy directorprotrudes from the extension of the filter.
 5. The beverage podaccording to claim 1, where the energy director has a triangularconfiguration with a base width from 0.40 mm to 0.10 mm, a height from0.40 mm to 1.00 mm, and a tip width from 0.02 mm to 2.00 mm.
 6. Thebeverage pod according to claim 1, where the energy director seals theextension to the rim around the circumference of the rim at apredetermined sealing force range from 15N to 40N.
 7. The beverage podaccording to claim 1, where the strength of the line of weakness ispredetermined to be near the upper range of the predetermined sealingforce of the energy director.
 8. The beverage pod according to claim 1,where the line of weakness is between the energy director and thesidewall of the container.
 9. The beverage pod according to claim 1,where the container and filter are made of substantially similarmaterial.
 10. The beverage pod according to claim 1, where the containerand filter are made of polypropylene material.
 11. The beverage podaccording to claim 1, where the container and filter are formed from aninjection molding process.
 12. The beverage pod according to claim 1,where the base filter has holes to allow beverage to pass through theholes.
 13. A beverage pod, comprising: a container having a first partpeelably bonded to a second part along a bond area, the first parthaving a first sidewall that bends at a corner to form a first sectionand defining an opening around the first section, the second part havinga base and a second sidewall that is outside and juxtaposed to the firstsidewall to form a pathway between the first and second sidewalls and tohave the first section extends outwardly from the second sidewall wherethe opening defines a top side of the container and the base defines abottom side of the container, and the bond area is located near the topside of the container; a filter coupled to the first part such that thefilter forms a pocket within the opening to receive a beverage substancewithin the pocket; and a lid coupled to the first section of the firstpart to enclose the opening and to hermetically seal the beveragesubstance within the container such when the beverage pod is brewed in afirst orientation the base is pierced by an outlet piercing element todrain the beverage via the outlet piercing element, and when thebeverage pod is brewed in a second orientation at least a portion of thebond area is separated to form a gap between the first and second partsby a separating element to allow beverage to flow along the pathway anddrain via the gap.
 14. The beverage pod according to claim 1, where thefirst sidewall is within the second sidewall and the first sidewall hasa plurality of ribs protruding outwardly therefrom to provide thepathway between the first and second sidewalls.
 15. The beverage podaccording to claim 1, where the first sidewall has a plurality of holesto allow beverage to pass therethrough.
 16. The beverage pod accordingto claim 1, where the first section of the first part extends in alateral manner when the container is in the first orientation.
 17. Thebeverage pod according to claim 16, where the first part furtherincludes a second section that extends from the first section in aslanted downward manner relative to the first section.
 18. The beveragepod according to claim 17, where the second sidewall extends outwardlyto form a rim.
 19. The beverage pod according to claim 18, where thefirst section of the first part is peelably bonded to the rim of thesecond part.
 20. The beverage pod according to claim 19, where the rimof the second part has a line of weakness around the second sidewall.21. The beverage pod according to claim 1, where the filter has a ledgethat is bonded to the first section and the lid is bonded to the ledgeof the filter to enclose the opening and to hermetically seal thebeverage substance within the container.
 22. The beverage pod accordingto claim 1, where the filter has a sidewall that extends upwardly fromits bottom and terminates at a distal end that is bonded to the firstsidewall adjacent to the corner of the first part.
 23. The beverage podaccording to claim 1, where the first sidewall has an inner side and anouter side terminating at a distal end, and the first part has an innerside and an outer side
 24. The beverage pod according to claim 1, wherethe filter has a bottom and the first part has a shield base to supportthe bottom of the filter such that the first sidewall is between thefirst section and the shield base.